The Unknown Rider
by endra1
Summary: An unusual request from the Gamma World unites Ex-Aid, Ghost, and Build. Now, with lives on the line, they find themselves facing an enemy they've never seen before. And time is running out.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello all! Please note this is a fanfiction: the worlds and characters do not belong to me. I am merely a fan. I hope you enjoy this story!**

**Chapter 1**

Takeru Tenkuji arrived home to an empty temple. Akari and Onari were out. They had been out for over a week. There had been a report of strange occurrences at a fellow temple. Something about a phantom cat. Takeru had wanted to go but he had the most commitments and someone had to stay to look after the temple.

He'd barely seen any of Akari and Onari even before they'd been called out. His university classes took up most of his day and by the time he got home, Onari was usually packing up for the day. Akari had been locked in her lab almost all day every day lately, working on a number of new inventions. Most of them seemed beyond the scope of Takeru's use but she had gifted him with an inter-dimensional phone just before leaving. Apparently, their past encounter with Kamen Rider Build had inspired the idea but Takeru suspected she'd been working on it for some time before that. She missed Makoto and Alain almost as much as he did even if she didn't show it.

Takeru left his shoes at the door without putting them in the shoe cupboard. No one would trip on them anyway. He put his bag down on the main table and left it there for a moment: slight rebellion in the hope that Onari's voice might reprimand him for the lapse. There was only silence.

He sighed and hung the bag on one of the three currently empty hooks above the dressing table.

Today had been difficult. Unlike a lot of the other students, he had a diploma, not a high school degree. Which meant he didn't already have friends from school going to the University and University was not exactly the best place to make friends; the lectures were long, the tutorials difficult, and even the breaks were mired by club activities or study.

Today, there had been group work: the perfect way to isolate social outcasts. Takeru had ended up with two overflow members of friendship groups and neither of them had wanted anything to do with him.

To be entirely honest, he could understand their reluctance. Since starting the course, Takeru had been absent for almost half of it. Rider commitments had dominated the start of term and by then, he'd been branded antisocial not only by his classmates but by most of the professors too. He'd heard one of two of the rumours 'explaining' his inconsistent attendance and most were not flattering.

Takeru sighed again. The only way to prove them wrong was to do his work. He groped in the bag for his laptop but his hand caught on a slightly smaller device.

He pulled out Akari's interdimensional phone.

He sat at the table and scrolled through the names on the list.

There was Akari and Onari: Makoto and Alain too. Akari had made sure the four of them were at the top of the list.

But there were more contacts in the phone. Shibuya and Narita. People who had helped him while he was Ghost. And other Riders. Lots of other Riders. Akari had found out the numbers for every Rider they knew as well as every Rider those Riders knew. Of course, most of them couldn't call back. Takeru wasn't even sure most of them knew he had their number. Akari had promised that it would be something she would hand out to other Riders when she had time but Takeru wasn't quite sure how. Most of the Riders didn't appear to be easy to get to.

The thought of the other Riders made him smile, though. It was amazing how people could come together without even knowing each other. There had been a few rocky starts, of course. Drive, for one, had been an interesting first meeting. But they had always managed to pull together when others needed them.

Takeru's lips tightened.

Perhaps they wouldn't mind a call out of the blue? There was no emergency but some company would be nice. Maybe…?

No. Takeru shook his head. They were busy. Like him, most of them had lives outside of their Rider commitments. He had no doubt they would come if he called but the trouble he would cause them out of selfish desire was too much.

He picked up the phone and put it back in the bag, pulling out his laptop instead. He gathered some snacks and settled in for the long haul.

BRING. BRING. BRING.

The sound startled him and he almost choked on the Pocky he was eating. He shifted on the cushion to get to his phone and pulled it out.

It wasn't ringing.

BRING. BRING. BRING.

Takeru's gaze snapped to his hanging bag. He abandoned his phone and snacks and scrabbled to get the zip undone again. He fished inside and retrieved the interdimensional phone.

BRING. BRING. BRING.

It was ringing. It was actually ringing. He hadn't even seen it ring before.

And, now that he thought about it, Akari hadn't taught him how to answer it.

There was a large green button to the left of the screen and a red one to the right. Pretty self-explanatory. Or at least he hoped so. He pressed the green button and held the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he said.

"Takeru?"

"Makoto?"

"Takeru, I'm glad to hear your voice."

"Me too, Makoto. You have no idea how much I wanted to call you just now…Wait a second, how did you get this number?"

"Akari sent it with the last set of tech. She said it probably wouldn't be operational until about now."

"She actually finished it about a week ago. Guess it became a priority. We miss you here." Takeru could feel himself smiling even though there was a part of him that felt like crying. "Anyway, how are you?"

There was silence.

"Makoto?"

There was yelling in the background and Takeru clutched the phone.

"Makoto?"

"Sorry Takeru, I'm here. Alain and I are just a bit busy at the moment."

"Are you guys ok?"

"Actually, we could use some help."

Takeru stood up.

"When can you have a portal ready?"

"Not that kind of help, Takeru. In fact, we need you guys to stay away from the Gamma World for a bit."

"What's going on?"

"There's been a bit of an illness going around. We thought we could handle it but it's starting to look serious. Alain thought maybe that doctor friend of yours could help?"

"Ex-Aid? I can ask but he's going to need a portal to get there."

"Alain's worried the infection could spread with a regular portal. Can you talk to Akari about a portal with shorter exposure?"

Takeru smiled.

"Akari's out but I think I know someone that can help."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you to Dash Master 48 and the Guest who gave the first reviews for this story. It is wonderful to hear from other Kamen Rider fans. Please enjoy Chapter 2.**

**Chapter 2**

"Sento, aren't you finished my upgrade yet?"

"How much longer until you're done with the wifi link? I've got a podcast due in half an hour."

"Hang on guys. He broke my phone. I think fixing that should come first."

Sento pored over his work table, half a dozen unfinished projects swept aside in preference of the offending phone.

He hadn't meant to break it. And he'd been very tempted to leave it broken. It was much more interesting that way. Fixing a broken phone did not interest him in the least. But keeping Sawa on their side was preferable. He'd already experienced the dark side of wronging a reporter.

He sighed. Perhaps there were improvements he could make during the fix to keep himself interested?

"No upgrades," Sawa said, slamming her hands on the table to get to eye level with him. "I just want my phone back exactly as it was."

Sento's lips tightened and he slumped forward, settling into a pout as he poked at the phone.

Misora's wifi problem couldn't be helped. Four of his current projects required the majority of the bandwidth. Her podcast would likely have to wait.

Banjo's upgrade had been interesting to start with. It even had his hair perk up at the original idea. But he'd quickly discovered it was not quite as exciting as he'd hoped. The challenge had lasted less than a day and his initial concept had adapted to something much more mundane. Now it stood in isolated pieces, whining for his attention almost as much as its owner. As boring as it was, he did hate unfinished projects.

His other projects were much more important to him but the demands of his companions had outweighed his passion of late. It seemed that everyone wanted something from him now that he wasn't fighting villains every night.

Even his last ditch sales of minor projects to the general public had somehow taken off and left him with more work than time.

All the more reason to finish up with this phone then, he supposed. He lifted the screwdriver.

"Build, the Minister needs the report on the new system by 6pm tonight. Will you be finished?" Gentoku burst through the door.

Ah yes. That project.

"It'll be finished," Sento said, without looking up.

"By 6pm tonight?"

"Probably."

"Build! How are you going with my harvester?" Kazumi swept into the room, covered head to toe in dirt.

Sento looked up, a glimmer in his eyes.

"It's over here." He jumped from his chair and led Kazumi to a small handheld silver machine in one corner.

He pushed a broken motor and metal panel to the side and brushed off the harvester as he lifted it to present to his comrade.

"A handheld potato harvester. This little beauty is amazing. It basically made itself. Getting the torque right was difficult but-"

"Is it finished?" Kazumi interrupted.

"Yes. You just push this button here to get started and then-"

"Awesome. Thank you, Build!"

Kazumi took possession of Sento's creation and headed for the door.

"Wait right there, Grease." Misora stood in his way.

"Mii-tan!" Grease immediately melted into fanboy mode, soppy smile on his face as he took in Misora's frown.

She looked right past him to Sento.

"Why does this blockhead's potato harvester get finished but you can't even fix the wifi?"

Kazumi's expression fell and he clutched the invention tighter. "But-"

"She's right!" Banjo pushed in and shoved Kazumi's shoulder. "I've been waiting for that upgrade for more than a week now!"

"Well I need my phone for work. I could be getting the most important scoop of the day right now!" Sawa crossed her arms, standing protectively by her shattered phone.

"The report is a matter of national security!" Gentoku interrupted. "The minister-"

"Shut it, Crocodile," Banjo said. "The minister owes us. He can wait."

"What did you say, knuckle head?"

RING. RING. RING.

Sento took the call outside, confident no one would notice him leave.

He wasn't wrong.

"Kiryu Sento? My name is Hato Shijo and I work for Electrix. We heard you have information on the Pandora panels. We're currently working on harnessing their energy as a reusable source. We were wondering if you might be willing to share some of your research-"

"Wrong number." Sento hung up.

RING. RING. RING.

"I'm not interested!" Sento said.

"Build? It's Takeru."

"Ghost?" Sento let a smile creep through. "I didn't expect a call so fast. Akari told me she was building an inter-dimensional phone. I suppose it worked. I probably could have built one for her but she insisted she do it herself."

There was silence.

Sento's smile dampened.

"Ghost? Can you hear me? Is the phone working alright?"

"Yeah, sorry for calling. I'm sure you're busy."

Sento cocked his head. The kid sounded pretty down.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

There was a moment of silence.

"Look, I know this might be a bit out of line, but I was wondering if you might be able to give me a hand."

Sento shifted the phone. "We're all Riders. There's no 'out of line'. What do you need?"

"An interdimensional portal."

A portal?

"Some of my friends from the Gamma World need a hand but we don't have a way to get them help without opening a rift between the worlds. They're worried the illness could spread."

A controlled portal?

"Akari might be able to come up with something but it's not her specialty. Considering what happened last time with Enigma, I thought you might be able to help."

A controlled interdimensional portal?

"Build?"

Sento rubbed his hair, a tuft sticking up as exuberance came over him.

A portal! This was the best project ever! He would need a magnetic function and a –

His brain could barely wait for him.

"Give me an hour," he said and hung up.

He ran back to the lab, grabbing the blender and a network cable as he went.

His comrades were still arguing when he entered the room.

"Sento, where did you-"

"Everyone out."

"But-"

"I need to make a portal."

"Another new project?!"

"What's the portal for?"

"But what about my-"

The voices faded away as his work consumed him. Even a brief physical fight over ownership of the blender passed by silently in Sento's mind and he incorporated the piece of machinery into his newest invention.

When he tightened the final screw, he looked over his creation with a smile.

"It's done."

He looked around him to find everyone had left as per his original request.

He quickly scribbled a note and grabbed his belt and a few bottles before activating his newest pride and he felt a swell of joy as the blue horizon activated with a press of a button on his remote.

He didn't hesitate before stepping through and the portal closed behind him, leaving nothing in his stead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thank you to all readers of this fiction. Please enjoy Chapter 3.**

**Chapter 3**

Emu Honjo was busy.

He had twelve patients under his direct care with two more an hour coming through the Emergency Ward.

Even with the help of the Nurses, Emu was run off of his feet. He'd been at the hospital for six hours and this was his first chance to take a break.

He put coins into the vending machine and bent to retrieve the apple juice he'd selected. He collapsed at one of the cafeteria tables with a sigh and leant back in his chair with an expelled breath.

"Emu." Parado sat across from him, long legs crossed as he leant forward eagerly. "Pipopapo got hold of Dan's prototype 'Smashing Swings'. Want to play?"

"I don't know, Parado," Emu replied, holding the cool can to his forehead. "Do you think it could wait until a day off?"

"Day off? When is that?" Parado asked and Emu wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or was actually quizzical.

Emu's other half still seemed to be learning the ropes. And work was something that neither of them seemed to be adjusting to well.

Emu was glad that he was able to help so many people, of course. He was the star of the hospital and much in demand after his recent work at the clinic. Unlike Hiiro, however, Emu didn't want to turn anyone away. Didn't want anyone to have to wait. He couldn't stand the idea of someone suffering just because they weren't in a life threatening condition. If there was something he could do, he should do it.

And it wasn't that he was unaware of overwork. He'd seen it often enough and been there once or twice. He made sure he kept to his shift times and didn't put in any extra hours. But even he had to admit he was buggered by the time they got home.

Parado had started following him to work after two weeks home alone but the bugster didn't seem to be aware of the importance of what Emu did. And Emu certainly didn't have time to explain it to him.

"Let's talk about it again when we get home, ok?" Emu said with a tired smile.

Parado's excitement dropped from his face. "But-"

"Doctor!" A nurse ran into the cafeteria. "We need you!"

"On my way." Emu gathered his drink and stethoscope and stood.

Parado stood too. "Emu-"

Emu smiled at him sadly. "Later, Parado. I've got to go."

Emu ran after the nurse to find himself with another emergency patient.

He was so intent on the treatment that he didn't even hear his phone ringing until Parado reached around him and retrieved the device.

"Hello?" Emu heard Parado answer.

Emu kept one ear on the conversation as he tightened the pressure bandage on his current patient.

"He's busy."

"You need what?"

"Why?"

Emu felt Parado's gaze on him.

"Sorry, Ghost, he's occupied."

Did he just say Ghost?!

Emu turned to see Parado about to hang up.

"Wait!" he cried and grabbed the phone. "Ghost? Ghost are you there?"

"Ex-Aid." Ghost's voice sounded timid.

"What do you need?" Emu asked.

"Oh no. It's ok. Parado said you were busy. I can ask-"

"I'm ok. What do you need?"

There was a hesitation on the line. "My friends in the Gamma World are dealing with some kind of infectious outbreak. We were after a Doctor."

"In the Gamma World? They're going to make you a portal?"

"I got Build's help and he's made us a new portal. One with less exposure time. We can open it from our side."

"Build is there with you?"

"Yeah, he came through a few minutes ago."

Emu heard a faint voice ring in the background. "Does he want me to use the portal to pick him up?" Yep. That sounded like Build alright.

"What do you know about this outbreak?" Emu asked.

"Just that it seems to be spreading quickly. Makoto and Alain thought they had it contained but it just keeps spreading."

"What are the symptoms?"

"They said it was similar to a cold: fevers and aches. But it's come out of nowhere. They said the first case occurred only three days ago but now they have over 100 cases."

"Do they have any samples?"

"They do but they didn't want to send it through for fear of contamination. If it's local, they didn't want to spread it."

"Ok. I'll gather some stuff and be right there. Where are you guys at the moment?" Emu asked.

"We're at my temple. We can come to you if you want."

"I've got a portal," Build's insistent voice sounded in the background again.

"No. It's not that far away. I'll see you soon."

"Thank you, Emu," Ghost said and they hung up.

Parado took the phone.

"You're busy enough. They could have found any other Doctor," he said.

Emu shook his head. "We're all Riders. We need to be able to rely on each other."

"They're just relying on you. Who do you get to rely on?"

Emu smiled. "My friends."

He called the nurse over and had her finish bandaging the patient before he retrieved his phone from Parado and called Hiiro.

"I've got to make an emergency visit. Can you cover the rest of my shift for me?" Emu asked.

"Is it important?" Hiiro responded.

"Yes."

Hiiro sighed. "Go. I'll cover."

"Thank you." Emu grinned. "I owe you one."

Parado grabbed Emu's belt while Emu grabbed medical supplies.

Emu frowned at him.

"I don't think we're going to need that."

"You never know when you're going to need it," Parado replied.

Emu shrugged and gathered his stuff.

"Let's hurry," he said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Please enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

Emu and Parado arrived to find Sento and Takeru waiting outside for them.

Takeru greeted them each with a warm handshake and Sento waved casually, preferring not to get too close.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Takeru said.

Emu patted him on the back. "Anything for a fellow Rider."

Parado stayed out of reach and his silent stare had Emu sigh.

"So you said we were using a portal?"

Sento's face lit up and he pulled a small handheld remote from his coat.

"This child is the World Tunnel. It uses a similar type of energy to the Gamma Portals but ensures that the rift is only open while the user holds the button. Of course, it takes some fine calibration to make sure that it opens at the right spot but the calculations aren't that hard. It's absolutely genius."

He flicked his fringe back from his brow with an almighty smirk.

"And you're sure it's safe?" Parado finally spoke up, eyeing the device and Build warily.

Sento raised an eyebrow.

"I used it to come here. Besides, it's much safer than the Enigma machine _you_ traveled through."

"We shouldn't keep the patients waiting any longer, then," Emu said.

Takeru nodded and gathered some of Emu's medical supplies.

"Watch out!" Parado yelled.

The Riders barely had a chance to react as a flaming haze descended upon them.

Parado threw himself at Emu, tackling him to the ground as Takeru rolled to a crouch and activated his Rider Belt.

Sento, separated from the others, had bottles in one hand and the other slinging his belt around his waist as the smoke cleared.

In the centre of a burning ring on the ground stood a Kamen Rider.

Or at least it looked like a Kamen Rider.

It was certainly no Smash, Ganma, or Bugster. The armour was sleek and humanoid, made entirely of black and gold. A full helmet covered the wearer's face, luminescent eyes slanted and emotionless.

"Does anyone know this guy?" Takeru asked.

"This is your world," Sento countered.

Emu and Parado shook their heads in unison.

"I suspect he isn't here to help, considering that attack," Emu said.

Takeru held out his arm when Emu equipped his belt.

"We've been wrong about intentions before. Just give me a second to-"

The new Rider launched itself at Takeru. Surprised, he wheeled back, defending against the first kick and punch with clenched teeth as the blows did damage without his armour.

_"Rabbit! Tank!"_

A fully transformed Build jumped into the fray, distracting their new adversary with his own barrage of kicks.

Takeru got clear and began his own transformation.

"_Bachiri Minna. Ore Kaigan: Ghost! Let's go, Kakujo, G-G-Go- Ghost!"_

Emu loaded his Mighty Brothers X Gashat.

"_Gashat! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?! I'm a Kamen Rider!" _

Emu and Parado transformed as one into their separate halves and ran to help Build.

The strange Rider pulled at a device on his hip and there was a burst of light.

All four Riders shielded their eyes and ducked out of instinct. As the dots cleared from their eyes, they came face to face with six copies of the unknown Rider.

Build, Ghost, and Ex-Aid exchanged glances.

This was going to be trouble.

They braced themselves, standing back to back together as the black and gold Riders advanced.

The unknown Riders immediately went to divide and conquer. They threw a barrage of long range attacks, knocking all four Riders off of their feet. The Mighty Brothers struggled back upright to find themselves confronted by two of the unknown Riders. A punch here, a bruising blow to the back and Emu's side was pushed back. Parado followed, pulling Emu to his feet and using the motion to launch a counterattack. The blow glanced off and the unknown Riders followed up with a sharp fire attack that ate at Ex-Aid's armour.

Ghost ran past, two of his own enemies on his tail. They maintained their distance, preferring to use hissatsu attacks than to get in close quarters.

Takeru loaded a new eyecon, pulling his belt to activate the change.

"Kaigain: Nobunaga!"

He fired as soon as his pistols came into existence, trying to target one in particular so he could at least lessen the spread of his focus. His shots were accurate but not powerful enough. He reloaded but the second unknown Rider kicked the gun from his hand.

Then both of them were attacking, joining together for one large hissatsu attack. Takeru braced as the ball of flame hurtled toward him and he staggered as he took he hit. His transformation came undone instantly but he righted himself and loaded a new eyecon, re-transforming to Ghost and rushing towards his enemies once more.

Build saw Ghost's transformation come undone but even his initial instinct to defend was quashed by the intrusion of his two adversaries. They stayed close, kicking, punching, and not giving Sento any chance to power up a hissatsu attack or change his bottles. Locked in his basic Rabbit Tank form, he found himself doing little more than protecting himself.

This couldn't last. In a battle of endurance, two would always beat one and Build didn't have the time to wait to see if they would give him a better opening. He had to get some space and then regroup with the others.

He added some extra power to Tank's leg for a sweeping kick and was gratified to see both his enemies jump back.

Sento took the chance and ran, heading to the outdoor Shrine.

"Ex-Aid!" He shouted as he bolted past the Mighty Brothers. He saw them both look out of the corner of his eye but didn't stop to check they would follow.

He dived behind the donation box at the Shrine and fumbled for new bottles.

An explosion threw him to one side and he gasped as pain exploded in his side.

He groaned and tried to shift but something was pinning him down. His transformation was holding but just barely and his fingers tightened around his new bottles as a shadow fell over him.

""Build! Are you ok?!" Ex-Aid bent beside him and between the two Mighty Brothers, they managed to lift the fallen beam from Sento.

Sento winced as he sat but accepted the hand offered by one of the brothers: he wasn't quite sure which one.

"Behind you!" he rasped.

The brothers turned to find four enemies upon them. They braced and defended as Build transformed behind them.

_"Tank! Tank!"_

Build rejoined the fight but it was complete chaos. He could barely move and assaults seemed to be coming from everywhere. Ex-Aid didn't seem to be doing much better and they were knocked back into the wall of the Shrine.

Build's transformation finally came undone and he gasped for breath as the Mighty Brothers struggled to rise.

The four unknown Riders were powering up a nasty looking attack.

Sento looked around him. They had to get out of here. The remote!

He rolled over and reached into his coat but the device wasn't there. He rolled back onto his stomach.

He must have dropped it. Where was it? There!

The device had spun under the donation box and was out of Sento's reach.

He dragged himself towards the fallen invention but quickly found himself pinned by Ex-Aid.

"Watch out!" The Mighty Brothers yelled in unison.

Sento glanced behind them to see the attack was unleashed and hurtling toward them. He wasn't going to get the remote in time. He closed his eyes and waited for the moment of impact.

It didn't come.

Eyes snapping open wide, Sento looked in horror to see Ghost's transformation come undone. Smoke rose from Takeru's body as he fell.

"Ghost!" One of the Mighty Brothers yelled.

Sento spun and continued his crawl toward the fallen remote as Ex-Aid ran to help Ghost.

Another explosion charred his arm as he reached for the device but his fingers closed around hard plastic. He retrieved the device as the Mighty Brothers dragged Takeru's limp form back.

Sento took one look at the pale face and bloody forehead and knew Ghost would not be waking up anytime soon.

"We can't win!" he shouted to Ex-Aid. "We need to retreat!"

There was no reply from Ex-Aid as all six of the unknown Riders attacked. The Mighty Brothers valiantly held the line, braced against the attacks as Sento activated the portal.

He heaved Takeru into a sitting position and rolled him through the horizon.

The unknown Riders were starting to overpower Ex-Aid.

"Ex-Aid! Now!" Build yelled.

One of the Mighty Brothers looked at him.

"Emu! Go!" he pushed the other Mighty Brother away from the fight and took on all six attackers by himself.

The other Mighty Brother – Emu, Sento assumed – shook his head and tried to re-enter the fight.

"Go, Build!" Parado yelled, pushing Emu away again.

Sento gritted his teeth and transformed into his basic form again. He struggled to his feet, wrapping his arms around Emu's waist and pulling him to the portal. Emu fought him.

"No! We can't leave!"

Sento took one more look at the remaining Mighty Brother and nodded once before leaping into the portal and pulling Emu through too.

"No!"

Emu reached out his hand, still resisting.

"Parado!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Emu's cry echoed as the portal closed behind where Parado held the line and he let himself breathe a sigh of relief. Then his Mighty Brother transformation disappeared.

Oh yeah. Forgot about that.

He took a nasty swipe to the chin for his mistake but rolled with it and transformed into Paradox as he rose. The six identical Riders were on him before he had a chance to think of his next move. A blow to the shoulder. Another to his gut. A flame attack to his leg took him down.

Not good.

As the six closed in for a beating, Parado curled in on himself and gathered his energy.

He released it in a single hissatsu attack and used the smoke to run. They would be on him soon. He had to make this quick. He dissolved his transformation and retrieved Emu's phone.

He dialled quickly and ducked behind a tree.

RING. RING. RING.

Parado gnawed on his lip as he waited.

"Hello?"

"Poppy, you need to get the others and go after Emu."

"Parado? What are you- Wait- are you ok?"

"A Kamen Rider attacked us," Parado interrupted Poppy. "Emu got away. He-"

Pain exploded on Parado's back and he found himself thrown forward. The phone bounced from his hand and he reached for it. Something yanked him backward by the scruff of his hood and an arm snaked around his neck. Parado tried to fight, tried to transform, tried to do anything but the pressure on his neck kept him pinned. He coughed as black edged in on him. The world melted as panic consumed him. His limbs went limp and then his mind disappeared.

"Parado? Parado?!" Poppy checked to make sure the phone was still active.

It was. But there was still no answer on the other end.

Then the phone went dead and Poppy felt her heart drop.

She redialled quickly but there was no reply.

Time to pass on the message, then. She put down the phone and ran through the hospital until she came upon Hiiro. He was busy, as always, administering a shot to an unconscious patient. Poppy made sure not to physically distract him.

"Hiiro."

The man did not look up but she noticed the slight stiffening of posture to acknowledge he was listening.

"Parado just called. He said he and Emu were attacked."

Hiiro swirled wordlessly from his patient, eyes wide.

"He said it was a Kamen Rider," Poppy continued.

"Where are they?" Hiiro asked.

"I don't know," Poppy replied. "The call dropped."

"Are they ok?"

"Parado said Emu got away. I'm not so sure about Parado."

Hiiro flagged down a Nurse and briefed her on his patient before storming down the hallway, dialling already.

"Snipe? Is Emu there?"

Poppy followed him but couldn't hear the answer although Hiiro's minute headshake did not inspire confidence.

"Did you call him with an Emergency?"

Again, Poppy couldn't hear the answer.

"No. He said he needed to help someone. I don't know: someone. I thought it was you."

"I wouldn't call you-what?! No. You don't need to-"

Hiiro stopped so suddenly Poppy almost ran into him.

"If you don't know- You don't- "

There was a click and Hiiro looked at the phone coldly before pocketing it.

"Taiga's coming?" Poppy observed.

"Always doing unnecessary things." Hiiro muttered. "Not my problem."

"You knew Emu left the hospital?" Poppy asked.

"He said he had a call. They took medical equipment and left in a hurry. But if they're not with Snipe I'm not sure where they went."

"So we're at a loss?"

Hiiro levelled a gaze at her.

"No."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Thank you to Dash master 48 for the consistent reviews and encouragement.**

**Chapter 6**

"Yo, Sento. You finished with my upgrade, yet?" Banjo Ryuga sauntered into the lab beneath Café Nascita.

A mess greeted him. Which was not particularly unusual. Especially of late. The desk, of course, was in complete disarray: covered in cogs and disassembled technologies. The piles of schematics and reports towered as high as the computer they smothered. Banjo's usual exercise space had half a car and two pieces of machinery that Banjo didn't even recognise. Wires crossed the remainder of the floor and even the bottle purification capsule had been stuffed with Sento's latest projects. In fact, the bed was the only thing that didn't seem to have been used lately. Banjo would have to change that soon. It had been a long day.

"Sento?" he called again, leaning around a perilously unsteady stack of boxes.

There was still no movement.

Banjo frowned.

"If you're hiding 'cause you haven't finished, man up." Banjo tsked.

He stormed around the rest of the lab but there was no sign of the wacky cream trench coat or unkempt black hair.

"Not here?" he mused aloud.

He let out a sigh of frustration and bounced back onto the bed.

He'd just closed his eyes when the door to the lab burst open.

Banjo sat up expectantly but it was not Sento who walked down the stairs.

"Oh, it's just you, Misora." He dropped back to the bed.

A light wack to the head made him open his eyes again and he glared at Misora as she passed.

"Where's Sento?" she asked.

Banjo shrugged.

"Must be out."

"You didn't see him leave?"

"He was gone when I got here."

Misora moved to the computer, clearing the paperwork from the keyboard.

She stopped, head cocked, and lifted a piece of paper.

Banjo sat up.

"What is it?"

She held up the paper.

"He left a note."

Banjo launched out of the bed and slouched close enough to read the note.

_Ghost needed help. Made an interdimensional portal. Gone through. Left an extra remote if you need me. _

_Sento_

"Ghost? Doesn't he already have a portal?" Banjo asked.

Misora dropped the note with a sigh.

"I suppose it mustn't have been the right one."

"But he had a bunch of stuff to do. He still hasn't finished my upgrade."

"Whatever he was doing is still chewing up the bandwidth too. I had to borrow Sawa-san's internet to do my podcast again."

"I bet he's goofing off 'cause he's sick of us bugging him."

Misora nodded her agreement thoughtfully.

"We should chase him," she said.

"I'm in." Banjo slammed his hands on the table to psych himself up before turning and heading to the door.

"Banjo, he went through a portal. He's not going to be through there."

Banjo spun and straightened to his full height. "I-I knew that. Where's the portal?"

Misora raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged.

"What does a portal look like?" Banjo asked.

Misora shook her head and sighed again.

Banjo went back to the desk and rummaged through the papers.

"He didn't leave a picture!"

Misora joined him at the desk and helped sift through the documents.

After ten minutes she threw the pages down with a huff.

"I can't even tell what is a schematic, what is a report, and what is just him making notes!"

Banjo threw his share of papers into the air.

"It's all gibberish! Damnit, Sento! At least leave us with clear directions to find you!"

Misora began moving furniture.

"Maybe it's under here?"

"What stupid scientist makes an invisible portal?!" Banjo growled.

Misora moved another plaque.

Banjo followed.

They tore the lab apart and still nothing.

Misora upturned the bed.

Banjo pulled the wires.

Misora checked the fridge.

Banjo threw the chair.

Both of them pulled their hair and looked to the sky.

"Rrahh! SENTO!"

Alain could not stand watching his people suffer so.

They had finally been on track. The people had accepted his leadership. Makoto had accepted his friendship. He had accepted his future. They had been readjusting to their renewed society smoothly and the world had slowly been changing. There were plants. Green. Lush. Relaxing.

There was food growing. Grains, fruits, vegetables.

Strange animals had begun gathering with the terraforming. There had been just one or two beetles at first: causes of great excitement within his small community. Now there were even lizards and amphibians.

Alain had been positive. Truly positive for the first time since leaving the normal realm.

Then the sickness had hit. People had started falling ill one after the other. It had started with a simple fever but things seemed to be worsening. Some of the first victims were having trouble breathing now. Even with the medical supplies they had taken at the beginning of their journey, the victims were gasping for breath. Some had completely become unresponsive. The fever only worsened and Alain suspected his people would not be able to hold out for much longer.

At first, Alain had wanted to handle the problem himself. He cared deeply for his people but he also understood that they would face problems within their community and they would need to develop ways to resolve them. External aid was not always easily accessible. If it were, Alain would visit Takeru more. He missed the temple, missed the relaxed relationships, and missed the blue sky of the normal realm. But he knew Makoto missed it more. So he could not complain. And they had made the decision to leave.

Makoto had been the one to convince him to reach out for help. By that point Alain's concern had already weakened his resolve to solve complications internally. He just hoped that Ex-Aid and the other Rider - Build, was it? – would be able to help.

A knock on the door distracted Alain and he turned to see Makoto enter, supporting a young woman.

Used to this routine already, Alain rose from the patient he had been tending to and laid out another blanket for Makoto to lay the woman onto.

Both of them smiled at the woman sympathetically and she smiled weakly back.

Makoto motioned for Alain to follow him.

They convened outside the door.

"That was the last of the external villagers. Everyone else is now within Castle grounds," Makoto reported.

"Which means there was no point in the quarantine," Alain observed.

Makoto put a hand on his shoulder. "It was worth a try."

"Are there enough volunteers to tend the ill?"

"Everyone has offered their help. We're trying to limit it to people who are already showing symptoms in an attempt to slow the spread."

Alain shook his head. "It does not appear to be spreading through conventional means. There must be a cause. We need to find it!"

Makoto patted his shoulder one.

"It's ok. Ex-Aid is one of the best doctors I've ever met. If anyone can figure out the origin – and the cure – it'll be him."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Emu rolled out of the portal, still held by Sento. They hit the ground hard and Emu felt his teeth rattle as Sento's hold on him broke and he skidded to a stop. He shook himself and stumbled to his feet. He turned frantically to see the portal closing.

He ran, hands outstretched.

"Don't let it close!" he cried.

But the circle of light dissipated long before he could reach it, let alone throw himself through it.

"No. No! No, NO, **NO**! **PARADO**!"

Emu whirled to find Sento, Build transformation undone, sitting up and putting the remote back inside his coat. Emu grabbed his lapels and shook him.

"Reopen it! Please! We need to go help Parado!"

Sento shook his head.

"We can't."

Emu shook his head.

"No. We have to."

He let go of Sento's jacket and reached inside it, frantically searching for the remote.

Sento grabbed his hands and stopped him.

Emu struggled to free himself, eyes still fixed on the jacket. It was there. It had to be there. If he could just get it-

"Ex-Aid. Emu!" Sento's hold tightened. "Look around."

Emu's gaze remained fixated. Sento was just trying to distract him. He thought Parado was disposable. But he wasn't. Parado wasn't just a friend. He was part of Emu. Literally half his soul. Emu needed him. And he had just left him there! They had to help him!

"Even if you get the remote, the portal will only reopen to the last coordinates: here. You can't get back."

Emu's stare flicked to Sento's face and he took in the solemn features.

"You have to help me. We have to go back."

"We can't."

Emu opened his mouth to protest but Sento continued.

"Look around, Ex-Aid. I don't know where we are. Even I can't make the necessary calculations if we don't know where we are."

Emu blinked and finally noticed his surroundings.

They were in a desert of navy blue sand. The sky was a strange luminescent purple with three suns and there was nothing in sight: not even the silhouette of a tree.

"Where are we?" he asked.

Sento got to his feet slowly.

"You don't know either? Then I should find out!"

He looked strangely excited as he pulled a strange contraption from his jacket and took some initial readings.

"Nothing poisonous in the atmosphere. Some dust particle saturation. Probably not a good idea to stay outside for too long then. No signs of life within 30km."

He began wondering away, still muttering to himself.

Trust the scientist to get distracted. Emu pulled out his phone and immediately noted the lack of signal bars. He tried dialling the Hospital anyway.

"I am afraid you appear to be outside of a serviced area. Please try again at a later time," his phone told him.

Emu put his phone away and went to follow Build but a groan stopped him in his tracks.

He spun to find Takeru 10 paces away and mostly covered by sand already.

Of course! In his panic, he'd forgotten there was a patient!

Emu ran to Takeru's side and excavated his friend, pulling the still-limp upper body to his lap.

Takeru was pale and shivering. Emu doubted it was from the temperature. At present, the weather was quite comfortable. No, with the sweating and head trauma, Emu suspected a concussion. He checked Takeru's eyes and frowned at the sluggish reaction.

If they had been near a hospital, Emu would have ordered a plethora of scans and immediate action on the head wound. But here, he had little to work with.

He pulled bandages from his jacket and was thankful to find that he'd also managed to pocket a small pump bottle of sterilizer. He triple-checked the head wound as he cleaned and dressed it.

There was a nasty cut there. Emu would have recommended some medical staples if he had access to them. But stitches were likely not necessary. Most of the bleeding had crusted the wound closed already. Emu felt down Takeru's spine and concluded there was no damage there. A number of lacerations and bruises to his upper chest concerned him but Takeru's breathing suggested they hadn't caused serious damage.

Emu finished Takeru's first aid as Sento returned.

"How is he?" Sento asked.

"I'm worried about a concussion but he doesn't seem to be in immediate danger," Takeru said, leaning in to check the fastening of the bandage he'd wrapped around Takeru's head. "Did you figure out where we are?"

Sento mussed his hair.

"It's amazing. From what I can tell, we're not anywhere on either of our worlds. My readings don't match any world I have heard of from the other Riders either. Without programming coordinates, I assumed we'd end up back at the last coordinates: my world. Instead, randomised the coordinates and bought us somewhere completely foreign. I analysed the pattern of the stars-"

"It's not night."

"I don't need to it be. I analysed that and from what I can tell, we're not in a parallel earth but a completely separate space."

"You mean like another world?"

"Another world. A pocket dimension. Just not an alternate Earth. More like Ghost's Gamma World."

"But it's not the Gamma World?"

"No."

Emu took off his coat and made a pillow for Takeru, gently leaning him down.

"What about-"

Emu broke up as he looked up and saw Sento clearly for the first time since coming through the portal. The man was covered in dust and there was a tear in his jacket that hung open to a nasty contusion. One arm was dripping blood and Emu could see a raw scrape through a rip in his jeans.

"You're hurt!" Emu exclaimed loudly.

Sento pulled his jacket closed with his uninjured hand.

"I'll manage. We need to find shelter. If this really is a desert (and my readings suggest it is), the temperature will drop at night."

"I agree that we need shelter but that needs treatment. Now."

"Ex-Aid-"

"Lift your right arm," Emu ordered.

Sento looked like he was about to argue so Emu stood and reached for the offending arm.

Sento shied away before Emu could grab it.

Emu crossed his arms. "You can't, can you? It could be broken. Let me take a look."

Sento sighed and slowly lowered himself to the ground, pouting like a child.

Ten minutes and a bit of yelping later and Sento was smothered in more bandages than their unconscious companion. They'd had to brace Sento arm which meant that the task of carrying Takeru fell to Emu.

Slowly, their ragged group began their trudge through the desert in search for shelter. In a foreign world, there was no way to tell long it would be before the sun began to set. They could only hope to find shelter before then. Emu dreaded thinking of what a night in the desert without shelter would mean for his injured companions but he had no doubt it would not be good.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Banjo and Misora still hadn't figured out where Sento's mysterious portal was. They had sorted through every piece of machinery in the lab and they'd started on pulling the Café apart when Kazumi and Gentoku arrived.

"Mii-tan, what are you looking for?" Kazumi asked.

"Where's Sento?" Gentoku asked. "I need to speak with him."

The statement would have sounded more commanding if it hadn't come from someone dressed in a lousy purple t-shirt that read 'You love yourself best'.

Banjo kicked a chair in frustration.

"Sento's not here. He went to help Ghost through an inter-something or rather portal."

"Ghost? Who's that?" Kazumi asked.

"A Kamen Rider," Misora answered with a huff. "Sento and Banjo worked with him during the Enigma incident."

"From the world without a wall?" Gentoku recalled.

"That's the one."

"That doesn't explain why the two of you are pulling apart the entire building," Kazumi said.

"We're looking for the portal but that idiot didn't say where he left it!" Banjo slammed his hands on the bench.

"We can activate it from this side?"

"That's what the note said." Misora collapsed in a chair.

"Note? What note?" Kazumi asked.

Misora sighed and pulled a folded piece of paper from her outfit.

Kazumi and Gentoku read through the letter.

"You can't find the remote?" Kazumi asked.

Banjo and Misora looked at him. Then at each other.

Misora snatched the letter back and read it though again.

Kazumi and Gentoku exchanged glances.

"You guys weren't looking for a remote, were you?"

"Ah!" Banjo tapped his fist in his palm.

He ran back down to the lab, followed by his three companions. He began digging through a pile a things in one corner: a spanner, pot plant, and what looked to be half a magazine thrown over his shoulder in neglect.

"Got it!" he cried, holding the small device high like a trophy.

Gentoku snatched the remote and looked it over. "How do we make this work?"

"Oi!" Banjo yelled indignantly.

Misora held out her hand and Gentoku passed the remote to her.

"Do we need to select a destination somehow?" she mused.

Kazumi leaned in and took a deep breath.

"Your hair smells divine, Mii-tan," he said with a smile.

Misora glared at him and Banjo elbowed between the two.

"Let's just press stuff!" he said.

The remote was snatched from Misora's grasp and she didn't bother to chase it. If they figured out how to work it, she'd go after Sento then. Anything else was a complete waste of energy.

"We should be careful. This could take us anywhere," someone said.

"We should press this button!" Another voice.

"No pressing buttons!"

"Give me the remote!"

"I want a turn!"

"Stop pushing!"

"No punching!"

"Let me have it!"

Misora put on her fluffy headphones to block out the noise and sat on a chair with an ice-pop. This should be interesting, she thought.

"So we're at a loss?" Taiga asked.

Hiiro sulked a few paces away. Poppy frowned sadly.

"He really didn't tell anyone where he was going?" Taiga prompted.

Poppy shook her head.

"Parado was with him," Hiiro said.

"But no one knows where he is either," Taiga leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

There was silence.

"Maybe we could track Parado's phone call?" Poppy ventured.

"Do you know a police officer?" Taiga asked.

Poppy shook her head.

"Then no."

"That could take days anyway," Hiiro said. "It would be best if we could just figure out where they went."

"But we have no leads." Taiga reminded him.

"Emu took his belt with him. That means he suspected there could be trouble." Hiiro crossed his arms too. "Maybe it was Rider business?"

"If it was serious, he would have told you about it," Taiga said.

"Maybe it wasn't immediately serious?" Poppy suggested.

"What else did they take with them?" Taiga asked.

"Medical supplies," Hiiro said. "A lot of them."

Taiga pushed off the walls.

"Maybe some kind of virus outbreak? A relapse of the gamer virus?"

Hiiro shook his head. "In that case, he would have needed Man-Power. He wouldn't have been so calm."

"Guessing isn't helping." Taiga put his hands in his pockets. "He didn't take his bike so he couldn't have gone far. Let's just look around and see what we find."

Taiga started down the hall with Hiiro and Poppy following when a glow behind them had them turn back the way they had come.

A circle of light hovered in the middle of the hall and, as they watched, it got larger.

"See?! I told you it was that button!" a voice said.

"Idiot! We don't even know where it opened to!"

"Are you sure that's safe?!"

"Only one way to find out."

"Stop, idiot! We don't even know if it's working."

"There's a ball of light in the air. I'd say that's a portal."

"We should send something through first."

"And then what? We can't very well get it back to check if it survived."

"We could tie some string to it-"

"Great idea, Mii-tan. I'll get some string!"

"Stuff that. I'm going through."

"Idiot! Wait! Wai- stop hitting me!"

Poppy frowned. "I know that voice. But where-"

Her eyes widened and her head snapped up.

"Mr Ryuuga?" she called.

There was silence. Taiga and Hiiro looked to Poppy in surprise but neither interrupted.

"How does the portal know your name?" someone whispered on the other side of the portal.

"Ryuuga-san. It's Poppy Pipopapo."

Someone snickered. "Pipopapo?! What a name!"

Poppy didn't take offence despite not even recognising that voice.

"We met during the Enigma incident."

There was silence again for a moment.

"Is she with that Ghost guy, then?" someone whispered.

"Shut up! I'm thinking."

"I'm friends with Ex-Aid," Poppy called.

"Ah! That Quack Doctor!" the main voice exclaimed.

"Wha- wait!"

The portal throbbed and then a head popped through.

As Poppy had expected, it belonged to Build's friend: Banjo Ryuuga.

She saw Taiga and Hiiro drop to a fighting stance but Poppy smiled at Ryuuga.

"You are welcome to come all the way through if you wish," she invited.

"We're looking for Build," Ryuuga said. "Have you seen him?"

Poppy frowned.

"We're looking for Emu too. Perhaps their disappearance is connected?"

"Is Ghost there?" Ryuuga asked.

"No. Should he be?"

"Sento said he was going to help Ghost."

Poppy shared an enlightened gaze with Hiiro and Taiga who relaxed their stances.

"I think we can help each other out," Poppy said. "Please come through."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Hi guys. Sorry for the delay. I'm travelling abroad and had a bit of trouble getting this one up. Please enjoy!**

**Chapter 9 **

Parado woke with a throbbing head and very sore throat. He couldn't even tell if the pain was external or internal. If he hadn't been conscious enough to realise he was still alive, he was confident he would have thought someone had broken his neck. He rubbed his throat. Or tried to. A clang and dull pressure notified him that his wrists were chained to something. Not good. If there was any kind of game Parado didn't like, it was an escape one. Being confined was something Parado would never be comfortable with. Being locked inside Emu for so many years still gave Parado a cold feeling. He suppressed a shiver and tried to orientate himself. His head and sore neck made it difficult. Every move he made had the room spinning and left him feeling like someone was trying to hang him.

He was in a small room that appeared to have few notable features. One wooden cabinet in the corner. Nothing on it. No draws open for him to see what was inside. Smooth walls covered in a horrid light green paint. A strange black door along the wall furthest from him. No windows. A sprung single bed underneath him. The sheets were white but had not been used to cover him. He lay atop, hands and feet chained to the bed posts, completely exposed. Parado pulled on the chains.

He really didn't like this.

Think. How could he get out of here? This was just another game. Just another challenge. He was the master of games. He could win.

The cabinet was surely a distraction. Too obvious. It was likely there was no key but there should be another way to open the door. His first task was to get out of the chains. He was not a magician. It was unlikely he would be able to wriggle out of them. But no challenge was beyond him. There would be another way. Perhaps a way to pick the locks? Or a way to trick someone into opening them? He pulled the chains again and raised an eyebrow. Or a slightly loose cuff. The cuff on his left arm was not completely locked in. It was not loose enough that he could get free instantly but perhaps with enough stress and vibration, he would be able to open it.

He began alternating between rattling the cuff and pulling on it. It came slightly looser. He grinned. This would work. He would catch up with Emu soon.

A sound outside alerted him to another presence and he painfully twisted his neck so he could clearly see the door.

The unknown Rider walked through, still in full gear. He stopped and looked down, scanning Parado up and down. Parado shifted uncomfortably.

The Rider's transformation suddenly dissipated, making Parado twitch in surprise, for beneath was an older woman with a stiff expression and short hair. The clothes she wore reminded him of Enigma and the belt she wore was completely foreign to him. She did not take off the belt.

"Where are the others?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Parado opened his mouth for a retort, felt his damaged throat muscles tighten and rethought his tactics. He shook his head.

"Who made the Portal?" she asked.

Parado shook his head again.

"Where does the portal go?"

Parado shook his head.

"What is your relationship with the pink one?"

Parado met her eyes and tightened his mouth.

She turned away from him and moved to the wooden cabinet. Her coat blocked his view as she opened the draw, although he strained to see. When she made no move to return, he carefully cleared his throat.

"Who….Who are…you?" he rasped, wincing as he spoke.

She did not turn and he heard no answer.

"What…do you want with my…friends?" he asked, a little louder.

She still did not turn.

"Where did you get…the belt?"

She turned: with a needle and vial in her hands.

Not good.

"What do you…want with me?" he asked.

She advanced and he struggled against his bonds.

"Get away!" he tried to yell. Even he was embarrassed by how feeble the sound actually came out.

She activated her belt with a swipe of her hand. Her transformation was quick and soundless. Not much like the ones he was used to. He glared at her.

"What are you…going to do?" he asked, still straining against the chains.

"Where are your friends?" she asked, voice once again distorted beyond recognition.

Parado stopped still and looked away from her.

There was silence. Then pain. He twisted back to find her pulling the syringe out of his shoulder.

"What…was that?!" He did his best to yell. The effect was less than impressive.

She returned to the cabinet.

"What did you…do?" Parado asked, although the words seemed slurred for some reason.

She turned and the room darkened with her movement.

Parado tried to ask again but his tongue was suddenly very heavy. He tried to move, to do anything, but even his awareness of pain was fading.

This couldn't be it. Not game over. Not without Emu. Not on his own...Not-


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Hi guys. Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter to you. Take care and be safe.**

**Chapter 10**

Akari and Onari were underwhelmed by the supposed 'ghost sighting'. After almost a week staking out the main hall of the temple, they were yet to see anything like the phantom cat that had been described by the head monk. They had had their doubts upon arrival. The temple was new and had been built on land with a non-descript history. Even the surrounding forest wasn't widely considered sacred. The monks had exaggerated everything from the comfort of their lodgings to the size of their meals and not one of the visitors exchanged rumours or ghostly concerns. Even the head monk who had reportedly been attacked by the phantom cat hadn't appeared agitated or jumpy when unexpected situations arrived. There were none of the usual signs of a haunting and certainly no signs of a Ganma.

If it hadn't been a request from a sister temple, Akari would have left long ago. Onari, of course, wanted to stay for their full two week invitation but Akari had better things to do. There were so many jobs left unfinished. She'd only just managed to finish the interdimensional phone for Takeru and she was confident the other Kamen Riders they had met would put such a device to good use.

She wondered if Takeru had had an opportunity to use the phone yet. She hoped so. Not only would that be a good test for her invention but he had seemed down when she'd seen him lately. She couldn't point to one behaviour in particular that concerned her but just a general quietness and lack of confidence. She suspected perhaps things were not going in the direction he wanted at the university but hadn't quite gathered the courage to ask him directly. She was sure a good chat with Makoto and Alain would cheer him up.

She'd have to check in when she got back.

They retreated to their room after a long night of not witnessing anything in particular and Akari flopped onto her futon.

"I'm not sure I can go through another night of that," she said.

"The Head Monk said he was sure the phantom cat will return tomorrow night. It is our duty as Ghost Hunters to ensure we are there when they do!" Onari proclaimed.

"I just think-"

The ringing of Akari's mobile interrupted her.

"Hello?"

"Umm…is this Akari-san?" a high pitched voice asked.

"Poppy Pipopapo?"

"That's me~! It's been a little while."

"It has. It's good to hear from you. How are you?"

"I'm fantastic~" There was a pause. "But I was wondering if you had seen Emu recently?"

"Ex-Aid?" Akari looked at Onari and he shook his head. "No we haven't seen him. Should we have been expecting him?"

"Mmmm." Poppy made a sound as if she were shaking her head. "Not really. We were just hoping he might be there."

"Ask her if she's seen Sento!" a rough voice called in the background.

"Is something happening?" Akari asked.

"We're not sure," Poppy said slowly. "Build and Emu seem to be missing and we received a rather concerning call from Parado."

"Concerning?"

"He said they had been attacked."

"And you think they might have been with Takeru?"

"Build's friends say he left them a note saying he was going to help Ghost."

"How did Build and his friends even get here? They aren't from this dimension."

"Apparently Build created an interdimensional portal."

Well then, so much for her interdimensional phone.

"We're away from the temple now but we'll go back to check. Maybe they're all still there. I'll give you a call and let you know once we get there."

She hung up and looked to Onari.

"We need to go. Now."

Akari and Onari arrived at the temple to find the outdoor shrine demolished and most of the lawn destroyed.

"What happened here?" Onari gasped, one hand to his mouth dramatically.

"Let's split up to look for them!"

Akari ran inside while Onari circled the temple.

Inside the temple was untouched. There was even a box of half-eaten pocky on the table. Takeru's bag was hung neatly and the temple keys were still on the dresser.

Akari ran down to the lab to find it also undamaged.

She ran back to the lounge as Onari stumbled through the door.

"I couldn't find them," he gasped, huffing and leaning over.

Akari bit her lip.

There had obviously been a fight. Someone must have attacked the Riders for something. But what? And why had the three Riders gathered to start with? How could there be no clues? Nothing around? Nothing left behind?

Left behind…that was it!

Akari spun and grabbed Takeru's bag off of the hanger. She upzipped it and started pawing through his stuff.

"Oh my! You shouldn't go through his things like that!" Onari reprimanded.

"Got it!" Akari withdrew her hand, the interdimensional phone in hand.

She pulled up the call log and to her relief, there was indeed a recent call with Makoto.

She hit redial and held the phone to her ear.

"Takeru!" Alain's voice came onto the line. "Did you manage to get them to help?"

"Alain, it's Akari."

"Akari? Where's Takeru?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. What's happening? What help was Takeru getting for you?"

"There's an outbreak here. My people are dying. Takeru was going to ask Build to create a portal so Ex-Aid could come through without risking infection to the normal realm."

"When was the last time he contacted you?"

"When we first spoke. Almost 12 hours ago."

"Build managed to make a portal and Ex-Aid also agreed to help but it looks like they were attacked before they could come through. Do you know who might have been responsible?"

"They-They were attacked?!"

"Yes. Do you know of anyone who might have wanted to prevent you getting help?"

"I…I am not certain."

Alain must have been very shocked. His voice was shaking. Akari tried to slow the pace.

"It'll be ok, Alain. Build's friends have a portal. I'll work with them to track down Ex-Aid. We might be even be able to send some of Ex-Aid's friends through to help you while we find Takeru."

"You…you said they were…attacked?"

"It might have been unrelated," Akari said in her most comforting voice although she was concerned that her very real doubt was seeping through.

"But who-?"

She suspected Alain was not listening anymore.

"Alain, is Makoto there?"

"Huh?"

"Can I talk to Makoto for a minute?"

"I've got it," Makoto's voice broke in. "Sit down for a minute, Alain. You need a break."

"Akari?" His voice became louder.

"Makoto."

"Takeru's missing?"

"Along with Build and Ex-Aid. The temple's a mess. What are things like there?"

"Hectic. Almost a quarter of the population has fallen ill and the first patient passed away a few hours ago. The patient was old and had already been ill but it's got us all spooked. We can't seem to treat it and Alain's worried it might prove more serious than we anticipated."

"When did it start?"

"A few days ago."

"And a quarter of you are showing symptoms?!"

"Yeah. It's something we've never seen before."

"That doesn't sound right," Akari frowned. "We'll have to check with the Doctors but that doesn't sound like the natural spread of a disease."

"What do you mean?"

"…I'll talk to the doctors first and let you know. Do you know of anyone who has left the Gamma World in the last few weeks?"

"Twenty people went through the portal last week to gather supplies. They won't be back until the next scheduled portal in two weeks."

"Twenty? Can I have names?"

"I'll send through a list in a – Alain!"

"Makoto?"

There were muffled sounds on the other end but no answer.

"Makoto?!"

"Akari, I'll send through the names when I can. I need to hang up. Alain's just collapsed."

"Is he ok?!"

"I need to check. I'll call again later."

"Makoto-"

The line went dead.

Akari turned to Onari who leaned in, hanging onto her every word.

"Alain's not well. Makoto needs to help him."

"Will he be ok?"

"I don't know." Akari hardened her heart. She was concerned for her friend but his entire population was also at stake. She had to do what she could to help.

"I'll call Build and Ex-Aid's friends. If they really have the same portal technology, we should be able to use it to pinpoint Build, Ex-Aid, and Takeru. We might also be able to send Ex-Aid's friends to help Makoto and Alain."

"They were facing an outbreak?" Onari asked.

"I'm not so sure." Akari shook her head. "It doesn't sound like any virus spread I've heard of before."

"If not a virus, what could it be?"

"I need to check but I…I suspect it might be manmade."


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Enjoy the chapter. Be safe.**

**Chapter 11**

Sento and Emu struggled through shifting sands as the wind began picking up and the temperature started dropping. It wasn't quite a sandstorm and they still had a few hours before dark but they were starting to get worried. Sento's exuberance over their new location had long since passed and conversation had become something of a precious resource: kept in reserve until it became necessary.

They had been walking for over three hours and there was still no sign of habitation or even shelter. Sento could not be sure that the sandstorm was linked to the time of the day but if it worsened as night arrived, they would not survive. It would not just be a matter of staying warm enough (which he was already not sure they would be able to achieve) but could become a battle to stay grounded and unflayed by sands stirred to vicious attack by cruel winds.

They needed something before night fell. A boulder. A tree. A cliff structure. Anything they could use to shield themselves and create a den to contain body heat.

Their trek had not leant much extra information to Sento. His initial readings had given him little to work with. The knowledge of dust saturation, however, had proved useful. Sento had instructed Ex-Aid to tie material around his mouth and nose and he had followed suit and ensured Ghost had the same protections. With the amount of dust in the air now, they would likely have been in danger by now if they had not taken earlier precautions.

That was yet another thing they would not be able to endure for much longer, however. Especially Ex-Aid. Carrying Ghost had not been an easy burden and the laden air had quickly led to short breathing and weakened legs. Ex-Aid had continued without complaint, of course, but Sento was not sure how much longer he would last.

Sento, on the other hand, had put all his resources towards his brain. He had thought of a million options to get them out of this situation. Transforming to lessen the dangers. Opening to portal to any random location. Using their clothing in combination with a transformation to create shelter.

All great ideas in theory but fatally flawed once fully explored.

Their transformations were taxing and, without Ghost conscious, he would not be able to transform with them. Sento and Ex-Aid could transform, of course, but that would likely cause further damage to existing injuries and he suspected the transformations wouldn't last more than a few hours at best. Even if they could transform, their shelter would not be enough to save Ghost from the worst of the environment around them.

Opening a portal to random coordinates could deposit them into space, an enemy lair, or worse and without confirming the starting coordinates, he could end up splicing them or even completely disintegrating them.

A combination of clothing and transformation would be the most effective shelter but only until the transformations wore off and half of their building materials disappeared.

There was literally nothing other than sand to use as an external resource and Sento had been in such a rush that he had neglected to bring any useful technology to build a solution.

Sento was still trying to come up with an alternative when Ex-Aid finally stopped.

"Everything ok?" Sento asked.

"I'm alright. I want to check on Takeru. Can you help lay him down?"

Sento helped Ex-Aid manoeuvre Ghost to the ground. Ex-Aid knelt and began the examination.

Sento knew he was not the necessary expert so he scouted their radius, searching for anything. He was to be disappointed.

He returned to the side of his companions.

He sat down on the other side of Ghost and let his body relax. He hadn't realised how tired he was. Most of his wounds were numb even with the sand sneaking through the bandages but there was a draining exhaustion creeping up on him. They had been walking for some time, he supposed. He took in Ex-Aid's appearance.

He looked taxed – as if he hadn't slept in days. His face was flushed and there were circles under his eyes. All concerning factors but nothing in comparison to Ghost.

Ghost was pale – almost translucent – and blood had crusted on the bandages around his head: creating a frightening contrast.

"How is he?' Sento asked.

Ex-Aid let out a breath and shook his head.

"It's not a good sign that he hasn't woken up yet. His pupils aren't fully dilating and his respiration rate is concerning. It all points to a nasty concussion. He needs professional treatment and lots of rest."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Get him somewhere secure and warm. Moving him around like this is not good for his blood flow nor for that head injury. If we had more materials, I would have suggested a stretcher. If we had more people or proper medical supplies, I wouldn't have even moved him in the first place. Without shelter, he won't last the night.

Ex-Aid looked up and for the first time in a long time, Sento was struck by how young the man looked.

"I need medical supplies. Beds. Shelter. Blankets. Water. Food. Everything."

"Ex-Aid-"

Emu shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"I can't do this. I can't stop thinking about Parado. We abandoned him."

"He-"

"I know he wanted it!" Ex-Aid's gaze hardened as he glared at Sento. "But he's just one Rider. There were four of us and even with four, we couldn't beat that Rider. What can he do that we couldn't do together?!"

Sento had no answer.

"We left him," Ex-Aid repeated and a tear fell from his eye.

Sento knew there was no right response.

Ex-Aid wiped the tear from his eye.

"Build, we really need to find shelter. And we need to figure out how to get out of here."

Finally, something Sento could answer.

"We will," Sento said firmly. "Shelter first and then I'll figure out a way to get us back to your world. Parado survived in my world with no help for 3 years. I'm sure he can take care of himself."

Sento chose not to bring up the matter of the other Rider. He was still trying to figure out how the Rider's powers worked and what his motives might be. Better not to assume.

Sento shuffled and ruffled Ex-Aid's hair and felt a twang of loneliness himself as the action reminded him of Banjo.

"You're doing everything you can do. That's what good doctors do."

Ex-Aid nodded and stood abruptly.

"Help me with Takeru?" he asked.

Sento helped manoeuvre Ghost back onto Ex-Aid's back and they began their trudge through the desert once more.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Parado opened his eyes with a faint recognition of surprise. It would appear that he had avoided a Game Over yet again. This recovery was not quite as comfortable as his last one, however. The pain in his throat was now coupled with a significant sense of suffocation and no matter how much he struggled for breath, he couldn't seem to get it through to his lungs. His headache had worsened and everything around him seemed to have a hazy film around it and if he stared at one object for too long, it multiplied. The shoulder the injection had gone into felt bruised and the rest of his body ached dully. He couldn't move any major muscles and it was a struggle to even scan the room.

The Unknown Rider was gone. No objects in the room had changed. The door was closed again.

Parado relaxed with a groan and then spent the next few minutes trying to regain the breath he had lost to make the noise.

He didn't know how long he had been out. Nor did he have any idea what was wrong with him. But he didn't feel like he was dying. Which was a good start.

He wondered what Emu was doing. Was he safe? Had he been injured? Did he care that Parado wasn't there?

The door opened quietly but Parado noticed. He closed down his thoughts and trained his gaze on the Unknown Rider as she walked into the room.

She considered him for a moment before stalking close and reaching out a hand.

Parado flinched away but he had no strength or freedom to avoid her touch. The hand landed on his forehead and he felt the texture change as she let her transformation expire. The touch was cooler than he expected and a part of him enjoyed the contrast. Then it was gone.

Parado struggled to maintain his focus as he watched her go to the cabinet again. Again, he couldn't see what was inside the draws but he was able to confirm that she had not opened the same draw as last time.

She turned back to him and forced a thermometer between his teeth. He bit down on it as she tried to retrieve it. The delay in removal only lasted a second but he felt a flutter of satisfaction regardless. Light blinded him and he shied away. She followed and pried open his eyelids one by one. Something cold went into his ear next but his vision was teetering between spotted and blurred black so he couldn't tell what she was doing. He shook his head when the cold left and it seemed to help.

She produced a needle. That wasn't going to help.

Parado leaned away. He pulled on his chains. Not again. He wouldn't let her do it again. He needed to get out of here. He needed to get back to Emu.

There was nowhere to go. The needle went in.

But there was no explosive pain. No fading vision - no more than the new normal, anyway. And no black out. He lolled his head to see the needle was drawing blood, not injecting something.

She withdrew the needle but didn't bother to patch his bleeding arm. She put the vials of his blood in her bag, stood up, and left.

Parado felt even more drained then before. He didn't even have the energy to test his chains again. He closed his eyes and felt sleep take him.

Emu wasn't sure what to say to Build. Emu was still tired and frustrated but he'd regained some clarity of mind in the hours since they had last stopped. Enough clarity to remember he had cried in front of another Kamen Rider. Enough clarity to realise he had unduly burdened a comrade with complaints. And more than enough clarity to understand he hadn't offered any solutions.

They had not found shelter. Takeru was still unconscious. And they had no way of knowing where they were or how to escape.

Night was coming. The suns were low and the winds were still picking up speed.

Emu had one more concern now, too. He had been hyper aware of Sento's presence over the last hour and his observations had been rather alarming. Sento's breathing had increased and there was a sheen of sweat on his brow. Symptoms not too worrying on their own. But coupled with the flush of a fever, dark blood seeping through layers of bandages, and a notable favouring of the contusion Emu hadn't quite managed to fully investigate yet: Emu's senses were tingling.

They really needed to find somewhere safe so Emu could sit the man down and give his wounds the attention they deserved.

The weight on his back shifted. Takeru? Emu stopped.

"Sento, help me get him down."

"Is he ok?" Sento rushed over to help and Emu noticed with a frown that Build was now actively protecting his injured arm.

"I think he's regaining consciousness."

They laid Takeru down and Emu huddled over him in a futile attempt to protect him from the sands as Sento left to scout as had become their routine.

Takeru appeared to be asleep but Emu knew better than to trust appearances. Sure enough, Takeru's eyes opened slowly a moment later. Emu noted the rapid blinking and complete lack of immediate recognition.

"Takeru, can you hear me?"

There was a moment before Takeru's eyes shifted to Emu and even longer before he seemed to register the words.

Takeru nodded weakly before his face crumpled into an expression Emu knew all too well.

He quickly shifted Takeru onto his side and patted his back as the young man hurled up the little that had been left in his stomach.

Emu leaned Takeru against himself once he was sure the expulsion was over. The limp weight against him concerned him further.

"Think you can talk?" he asked quietly.

Takeru shook his head slowly, eyes closed.

"That's ok," Emu said, making eye contact with Sento as he returned. "We're looking for shelter. Think you can hang out a bit longer?"

Takeru nodded but the movement was small and Emu was sure Ghost was unconscious again before they had managed to get him back into the piggyback.

"Will he be ok?" Sento asked.

"He's got a concussion for sure. We need to get him comfortable and warm. Extended exposure is dangerous."

"I think I found something," Sento said.

Emu wasn't sure he heard right.

"You found something?!"

"There seems to be an outcrop just ahead. It's mostly enclosed and big enough for the three of us. I think it'll be enough protection for the night."

They stumbled towards the structure with renewed hope and Emu realised Sento had been understating his find. The outcrop was less an outcrop and more a free standing cave. It was sheltered even from above and there was only a small opening at the front which the wind did not seem to be at the right angle to enter. It wasn't a hospital or house but it was the next best thing.

Perhaps their luck was improving.

Emu manoeuvred inside and propped Takeru against the wall carefully. He took off his coat and wrapped it around Takeru for warmth.

Sento came in after him and Emu was about to order him to sit when the man fainted.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: I wish everyone the best in these difficult times. Please enjoy the chapter and stay safe.**

**Chapter 13**

Akari and Onari arrived at Seito University Hospital less than half an hour after ending their call with Makoto and Alain. They had bought nothing other than themselves and the interdimensional phone that Akari clutched tightly. They had not yet heard from Makoto about the list of 20 people who had gone through the last portal and the silence made Akari uneasy. What had happened to Alain? Would he be ok? What if it was the illness? What if they couldn't find a cure? What if Makoto caught it too? What if Takeru got it?

No. Akari shook her head. She couldn't let herself be distracted. Makoto would get back to her when he could. For now, she had to do what she could to help.

They pushed through the doors to the CR unit and were greeted by an anxious bunch of semi-familiar faces.

Poppy pushed forward first, pink hair bobbing around pink cheeks that didn't frame the usual smile.

"Thank you for coming," Poppy said.

"Can you find Sento?" An earnest looking young man with a cut lip grabbed her shoulders with rough hands.

Onari pushed in between, forcing the man to keep his distance.

"And who might you be?"

"I think introductions might be a good idea," Poppy agreed.

"We don't have time." An intimidating man in a long coat with wavy brown hair and hands in his pockets stepped forward.

"We should make time." Another unfamiliar man wearing a strange t-shirt objected. "It'll make it easier to work together if we know what to call each other."

"I'm Poppy Pipopapo," Poppy started with a small curtsey.

"Doctor Hiiro Kagami."

Ah yes. Akari vaguely remembered him. The knight.

"Taiga."

Another name Akari vaguely remembered.

"Taiga's also a Doctor." Poppy clarified.

"Kamen Rider Cross-Z," The earnest man said, puffing his chest out.

"Don't compete!" A young woman slapped 'Cross-Z' over the head. "This idiot's Banjo Ryuga. I'm Isurugi Misora. We're friends of Build."

"Himuro Gentoku," the t-shirt man said in a voice much too suave for his casual appearance.

"Kazumi." The intimidating man also didn't seem so intimidating now and Akari suspected he might have a crush on Misora-san.

There was a short silence and Akari realised everyone was looking at her and Onari.

"Ah. Tsukimura Akari. This is Onari. We're Ghost Hunters."

There was more silence and the usual stunned confusion at their profession.

"We're friends of Ghost," Akari said in an effort to bring clarity.

"You're Ghost Hunters but friends with a Ghost?" Kazumi asked.

"Shut up, baka!" Banjo hit Kazumi.

Akari was starting to notice a pattern there.

"Did you find anything at the temple?" Poppy asked.

Akari held up the phone.

"There was definitely a fight. Takeru used this interdimensional phone to speak with our other friends in the Gamma Dimension. There's some kind of pathological breakout there at the moment and Takeru wanted to help. According to our friends, Takeru contacted Build to help create a portal that would limit the amount of exposure between worlds and they then asked Ex-Aid to come through with them to design a cure. They never got to the Gamma World. There's no sign at the temple of where they went or who attacked them."

"Parado called and said it was a Kamen Rider," Poppy added. "He said Emu got away but I don't know about the others."

"Then we have two starting objectives: find out where Ex-Aid, Build, and Takeru are and send help to the Gamma World." Akari turned to Build's friends. "You said Build left you a remote?"

"Yeah." Banjo felt around in his pockets and produced a small object. "But did you say interdimensional phone? Can't we just call them?"

Akari took the device.

"We already tried," Onari answered for her. "They were all out of service."

Banjo kicked the wall.

"So we know that Ex-Aid got away but that Para-whatever guy didn't. We don't know where Sento or Ghost are and we don't know who attacked them or what they wanted. How are we going to track them?"

"If I can just figure out how this portal works, I might be able to retrieve the coordinates Build's been using," Akari said. "How did you guys manage to open the portal to get here?'

"This button." Misora pointed it out for her.

"You didn't set any coordinates?" Akari asked.

"Not intentionally. We pressed a few other buttons first but I don't think so."

"It can't have been chance that you arrived at Ex-Aid's location. Either that was the last portal Build opened with this remote or he had already pre pre-programmed it with this hospital's coordinates."

Akari looked over the remote carefully and was surprised to find that, while more complicated than a normal remote, the device was very cleverly constructed and quite clear to anyone with a science or engineering background.

"I think I can program this to open up to the Gamma World. Is there anyone who would be willing to help our friends there while the rest of us track down the others?"

"I'll go!" Onari said. "If Makoto and Alain are in need, I shall come to them."

Akari smiled at him.

"It sounds like we'll be of more use there," Hiiro said and Taiga nodded agreement.

"Thank you, Doctors," Akari said.

"If someone attacked Sento and the rest just when they were about to go through the portal, they might attack again. I'll be a bodyguard." Gentoku stepped forward.

"I'll go too. I'd rather be busy than waiting to hear something," Misora said.

"Then I'll go too, Mii-tan!" Kazumi said, bounding to her side.

"Someone could attack again. You need to stay," Misora said firmly.

Kazumi's light face fell and he retreated to a corner, head bowed.

"I'm worried about Parado," Poppy said. "And Emu and the others could be hurt. I'll stay just in case."

"We'll need some equipment," Taiga said.

"The hospital will provide," Hiiro said. "Follow me."

"Before you go, Doctors, may I have a quick word?" Akari asked.

The two Doctors followed her to one side.

"Makoto's description of the spread of the disease has me concerned," Akari started. "He said there's only been one fatality but that a quarter of the population was infected within three days. The rate of deterioration also caught my attention. I spoke to Alain first and he sounded fine. About a minute into the call, he started getting vague and by the end of my three minute call, he'd collapsed. That doesn't sound like any natural virus to me. I think there could be a man-made element."

Hiiro and Taiga nodded.

"It sounds like a directed attack," Taiga said.

"Perhaps spread through water or food?" Hiiro mused.

"I think you should be careful," Akari said. "This other Kamen Rider must be connected somehow. Something's fishy."

"We'll watch our backs. Thanks for the heads up."

The Doctors nodded to her and ran to collect their equipment.

Within 10 minutes, the portal was open to the Gamma World and only Akari, Poppy, Banjo, and Kazumi were left in the hospital.

The light of the portal shimmered to a close.

"And now you can track Sento, right?" Banjo asked.

"I can try," Akari said, fiddling with the remote. "You might have to give me a while."

"Your phone's ringing," Kazumi said, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

"Hello?" Akari answered.

"Akari, it's me," Makoto's voice came onto the line.

"Makoto! Are you ok? How's Alain?"

"I'm ok. Alain's…unwell. He's down with whatever this thing is."

"Not for long. We sent help."

"You found Takeru?!"

Akari found herself shaking her head even though she knew he couldn't see it.

"No. Some of Ex-Aid's friends volunteered to help. We sent them through to the Gamma World just now. Onari's with them. They should reach the castle soon."

Makoto breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "And Takeru?"

"We're looking now. How did you go with that list?"

"I found all the names. I'll send them through as a text now."

"Thank you Makoto. Look after Alain for me and stay in touch."

"Will do."

The call ended and Makoto's text came up immediately.

"What's that?" Banjo asked, leaning over her shoulder.

She stood up and walked to Poppy.

"Our next job."

She gave Poppy the phone.

"Can you look into these 20 people for me?"

Poppy nodded energetically and took the phone.

"What about Sento?" Banjo asked.

"I'm tracking through the coordinates now," Akari said, bringing up a virtual display from the remote.

She scrolled through the short list of coordinates.

"This is the temple. Here, at the hospital. The Gamma World. And then…this…"

"What? Where is it?" Banjo asked impatiently.

"I need to check something."

Akari turned and pulled out one of her many devices. She didn't bother to explain what it did but focussed on confirming her deduction.

"I don't think they set these coordinates on purpose."

"Why? Where is it?"

"It's not here. As in not on this Earth. It's not from any Earth on the database I made after the Enigma incident."

She carefully met the eyes of her new comrades.

"I honestly have no idea where they are."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The temperature inside the cave Emu and co had inhabited was cool but not uncomfortably so. The dust saturation they had struggled against outside wasn't a problem inside their shelter and the winds could not enter.

Emu had busied himself tending to his companions.

Takeru was still unconscious but his intense shivering had lessened and there was some colour back in his cheeks so Emu had shifted his focus to Sento.

The man had not woken again since collapsing upon entering the cave. His heated skin and laboured breathing told Emu he had a fever. Emu didn't have the materials he needed to properly treat it so he ensured Sento was laid comfortable and used the trenchcoat as a blanket to contain the warmth. Sento would have to combat the illness on his own.

The wounds, however, Emu could do something about.

He lifted Sento's arm and undid the rushed bandage and splint he'd created earlier. The material was damp with blood and Emu winced as the fibres peeled skin with them upon removal. He ripped the rest of Sento's sleeve away this time to give himself a proper look at the wound. There was a notable absence of skin on a good half of his upper arm but only one small puncture seemed to be deep enough that it might require stitches.

Which Emu didn't have.

Sento had lost some blood but Emu didn't think he was in immediate danger. Yet another injury that would have to wait until they had better facilities. At least the bleeding was probably helping to clog the puncture.

Emu's primary concern was infection.

There was not enough water to chance cleaning the injury. He pulled out the small bottle of disinfectant and was moderately thankful that Sento was not going to be awake to feel it. Normally, he would have doused the entire injury with the disinfectant but he wasn't sure how long it would be before they had access to proper treatment and he didn't know how many other wounds would require similar equipment. Best to save the disinfectant for now. He poured some onto a strip of clean cloth and dabbed Sento's arm.

Once finished, he carefully squeezed up and down the length of the arm, confirming the break but also that they had correctly braced it earlier. Sento twisted with a moan. Emu held the offending arm still and waited for Sento to stop moving. It didn't take long. He retrieved the spanner they had been using as a splint and tore the hem of his Doctor's coat to form new bandages. He gently splinted the arm once more and placed the arm back under the covers.

He pulled up the trenchcoat to inspect the contusion on Sento's abdomen. He didn't want to cut Sento's shirt any further. They would need the material for warmth. Instead, Emu gently pulled the shirt up from the bottom so he could get a clear look at the injury.

A quick visual inspection showed no broken skin but a bruise the size of a dinner plate that was only going to get darker. The centre of the bruise was already so dark that Emu wasn't entirely sure it wasn't blood. Emu checked Sento's currently slack face and bit his lip.

He had to be sure nothing was broken.

Emu leaned forward and pressed on the wound.

Sento cried out, eyes scrunching up and head twisting. He did not wake.

Emu avoided the flailing limbs and mercilessly pressed deeper, feeling around the centre of the damage for any sign on broken bones or ruptured organs. Sento didn't cough up any blood. A good sign. But there was a nasty lump under the skin to one side of the centre of the bruise. Emu couldn't be sure without an x-ray if it was a bend, break, or chipped bone. But it wasn't good. He would have to restrict Sento's movements once the man regained consciousness.

He lessened the pressure and Sento rolled away from him and curled in on himself. Emu waited until the tension in his shoulders lessened and then rolled Sento back onto his back and pulled his shirt down and the trenchcoat back over him.

One more injury to check on. Emu moved on to the scraped leg and was glad to find it wasn't even bleeding anymore. A quick application of disinfectant and Sento was treated to the best of Emu's current abilities.

"How is he?" a quiet voice asked from behind.

Emu swirled to find Takeru awake.

"He'll be ok. How are you feeling?"

Takeru smiled as Emu moved closer. "Sore."

Emu smiled back for what felt like the first time in forever. "I'll bet. Can you move?"

Takeru raised a shaking hand slightly off the floor and let it fall soon after. "A little. I feel really weak."

"As long as your body is still receiving messages from your brain, you'll recover."

Takeru's smile faded.

"I feel sick," he said.

Emu helped Takeru move to one side and rubbed circles on his back as he dry heaved.

"I think I'm done," Takeru whispered after a while.

Emu leaned him back against the wall.

"Just let me know if you feel sick again."

Takaru nodded slowly. "Thank you."

"You've got a concussion. You should sleep," Emu advised.

Takeru looked to him.

"Where are we?"

Emu tightened his lips. "We don't know."

"Can Build use the portal to get us back?"

"Not without knowing where we are. It's not looking promising."

"And that strange Rider? He didn't follow us?"

Emu shook his head. "He got away."

Takeru looked around and looked back to Emu with wide eyes

"Where's Parado?"

Emu looked away.

"He didn't come through the portal with us."

Takeru sat up away from the wall.

"Is he ok?"

Emu gently pushed him back against the wall.

"He's tough. But enough of that. You need rest. Go to sleep."

Takeru looked like he was about to argue so Emu put his hand over the young man's eyes.

Takeru didn't resist and it wasn't long before his breathing slowed and became more even.

Emu removed his hand and rocked back on his heels with a sigh. His companions were much too stubborn for their own good.

Emu moved to his own corner and closed his eyes to get some rest himself. But thoughts of Parado plagued him. Was he ok? Did the Rider take him? Or kill him? Emu rolled over. He couldn't know. They would just have to go back as soon as they could.

And he would just have to keep hoping that Parado was ok.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 **

Parado felt like he was dying.

Whatever soporific effect had been left over from the initial dose of whatever he had been injected with was gone and his throat felt like it was burning. He could have sworn there were blisters all down his inner tract and that someone had flayed the skin from the outer portion.

Sleep was not an option. Every breath was torture. If there wasn't so little air making it to his lungs in the first place, he would have tried to stop his breathing at least temporarily. He was still weak and hadn't even had the inclination to pull on his chains for what felt like days now. The dizziness had subsided but his regained clarity of mind didn't help and he took every opportunity to try to distract himself from the pain in his neck.

As it was, a rather large part of him was actually thankful when the door opened and the Unknown Rider stepped through.

She looked down at him and he made no effort to avoid her gaze.

"Who are you?" she asked.

He blinked up at her.

She transformed. "Answer."

"Parado," he rasped painfully.

"Not your name. What are you? You are not human."

Parado felt a twinge of annoyance but decided to keep his answer short to save himself the agony.

"Bugster."

"Bugster? Explain."

If he hadn't already uncovered how much sighing hurt in his current condition, he would have tried it then.

"Virus…Symbotic. Uses host…becomes Human."

"Apparently not entirely human."

She looked him up and down.

"No visible symptoms. Do you feel?"

Not 'do you feel ill' or 'do you feel good' but 'do you feel'. Great.

"Yes."

"What are you feeling?"

"Angry. Let…me go."

She ignored him and went back to the chest of drawers. She returned with the thermometer again. He bit it again but she still didn't respond.

She checked the temperature and then turned back to the chest of draws. She returned with a scalpel.

Parado looked from the knife to her and then back again before he realised she was seriously coming back towards him. He struggled.

"What are…you going to…do?"

"If you won't tell me, I will have to find out myself."

"Stop…I'll tell…you!"

She paused.

"How are you feeling?"

"My throat…is sore."

"But no illness? Cramps? Clouded mind? Dizziness?"

He shook his head with as little movement as he could.

"And no sign of the drug left in the blood test," she mused to herself.

"What was it…meant to do?" he asked.

She looked at him coldly and raised the knife again.

Parado pulled away.

"I…answered you!" he protested, pulling on the chains as hard as his body would let him.

The scalpel tore through his clothing and Parado stilled. She cleared the material and slowly laid the sharp metal against his skin.

A chime rang from somewhere on the Unknown Rider's person.

The knife stayed where it was but she pressed a button near her ear.

There was silence and although Parado could not see her expressions through the mask, he suspected her eyes were still locked onto his.

She straightened and threw the scalpel back into a draw. Parado watched her, still tense.

She turned back to him.

"Are your friends like you?"

Parado braced himself and didn't answer.

She held his gaze before turning away.

"I suppose I will find out for myself," she said.

What? She found them?! No! He had to stop her!

"I'll tell…you about…Bugsters!" he called, throat screaming at him for the effort it took.

She closed the door behind her.

Parado pulled at the chains frantically.

"No! Emu! EMU!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"What do you mean you don't know where they are?" Banjo asked.

The young woman he only vaguely remembered from their Enigma encounter didn't get frustrated with him as Misora would have. Something about her fixation on facts and endurance reminded him fondly of Sento. Whom he was starting to get a little worried about. Just a little. And mostly because he still had to finish Banjo's upgrade.

"I mean I think I know the coordinates they used but I don't have any idea where those coordinates are."

Huh?

"Coordi-whatever. Can you open the portal to wherever they went?" Banjo asked.

She frowned, not making eye contact with him and still staring at the numbers on the screen of Sento's remote as if they would change.

"I don't know what we'll find there. We might need special protective gear or even-"

"Can you open it?" Banjo repeated, recognising the start of a long and boring scientific monologue.

She finally met his eyes.

"Yes. I think so."

"Then let's do it."

"But-"

The strange woman with an even stranger name put her hand on the scientist's shoulder.

"He's right. If special equipment was required, Emu and the rest wouldn't have had access to it anyway. We should check it out. We know how to get back if we need to come back for extra materials."

Banjo hadn't been sure about Popeye or whatever her name was but the argument obviously made sense to the scientist. Maybe he'd ask that Popeye to talk to Sento about just getting to the gist of things. She seemed useful.

"They might have been geared up when they went through, though, so I think sending a Rider through first would be wise," The Scientist, Atari (was that her name?), said.

"I'll do it," Grease said.

Over his dead body!

"I've got it!" Banjo declared.

"I said I had it," Grease argued, bottle out and ready.

Banjo quickly felt around for his bottle, found it, and held it up triumphantly. "But you wouldn't have it. I'm stronger. I should go."

"You're stronger?! As if. I've beaten you heaps of times!"

"What?! Dragon is the strongest there is. I even took down Sento!"

"That was Evolto. Not you. And Sento destroyed you right after!"

"I-"

"We don't have time for this!" Popeye got in between them. "You can both go through!"

"But then there's no Kamen Rider-"

"Costume change!" she replied.

Huh?

Banjo felt his jaw drop as Popeye suddenly transformed into the only female Kamen Rider he'd ever seen in his whole life.

"You're a Rider?" he asked.

"And you're wasting time," she said with a pout. "Either you transform now or I go through."

Banjo looked from his bottle to her and then back again. Right. Transform. Right. He slotted the bottle into its correct space and felt the lava flow over him.

WAKE UP, DRAGON! CROSS-Z!

ROBOT IN JELLY! GREASE!

Banjo noted with pride that the familiar jingle of Grease's transformation was a second or two behind his. He knew Grease couldn't see it under his mask but he smirked at him. Something must have given him away because Grease gave him the rude finger.

"Opening the portal now," Atari said.

The circle of light appeared in the air once more and Banjo held Grease back to make sure he could be the first one in.

A hand grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back.

"Oi!" Banjo yelled.

But it wasn't Grease. In fact, the Potato farmer looked just as confused as he did. And both of the women looked alarmed.

"Stop him!" Atari yelled.

Banjo checked behind him just to be sure she wasn't yelling at him. Nope. Nothing there. And he wasn't doing anything wrong anyway. He noticed that Grease had done the same thing and they shrugged at each other.

He turned back to see Popeye fighting a blur of colour. He squinted. What was that? Was it-

It was. Another Rider. The one who had caused all of this.

Banjo felt a well of anger. The one who had made Sento go missing. The one who had delayed the upgrade of his equipment yet again. The one who had forced his friend to jump to somewhere none of them even knew. The one who might have-

"RAHH!"

Banjo threw himself into the fight. A punch here. A duck there. Their opponent was fast but Banjo was a professional boxer. And he had two other people helping. They forced the strange Rider away from the portal. Banjo readied a knockout blow.

There was a flash of light.

Huh?

Banjo hadn't caused that. And it wasn't any of Grease's moves either. Maybe Popeye?

The light cleared and Banjo tried to rub his eyes. The suit made it hard but whatever.

Four new unknown Riders faced him and they all looked exactly like the one he'd just been about to destroy.

Right. Going to assume Popeye didn't make those.

He tackled one only to have it slip through his grasp and deal a nasty blow to his back. He turned to catch it again to find it had powered up. He dodged the glowing light headed for him and patted himself on the back for the decision after seeing the damage of the resulting explosion. Note to self: don't let the glowy lights touch you. Something that wasn't all that unusual in the Rider universe but a good thing to note anyway.

He powered up his own attack and managed to down one of them. Grease had hold of another and Popeye was successfully keeping a third occupied. But what about….there! The fourth! It was just about at the portal!

Atari had placed herself between the unknown Rider and the portal. She did not power up. There was a device in her hand but even she looked shocked when it didn't work. Not the effect she was hoping for then.

The fourth Rider kept running. Banjo could see this wasn't going to end well. A long distance attack, even if he had time, could hurt Atari. A short distance attack would do the same. And the fourth Rider was faster than he was. There was only one thing he could do to mitigate the circumstances.

Atari got herself out of the way swiftly and Banjo motioned to her. She got the message. She grabbed the remote and deftly shut down the portal.

But it was a split second too late. The Fourth Rider launched themselves at the light and passed through just as it shimmered out of existence.

NO!

"Quick. Open it again. I'll chase them!" Banjo yelled to Atari. She was already half way through pressing buttons even as he called.

The portal reopened and Banjo threw himself through.

Grease and Popeye rolled through after him.

They found themselves in a desert. Purple sky, three moons and blue sands. No trees, buildings, or landmarks of note anywhere visible. And yet there was no sign of the Fourth Rider.

Nor was there any sign of Sento or the others.

Just the expanse.

Banjo hit the ground angrily.

"Shit!"

Grease put a hand on his shoulder.

"They'll be here somewhere. Let's go see what we can find out from the other three weirdos."

Banjo reluctantly followed back through the portal.

Atari awaited them.

"Did you find them?" she asked.

Popeye shook her head.

"There's no sign of anyone there."

"So we're going to beat the answers out of those bastards we-" Banjo's words died in his throat as he realised the room was empty except for Atari.

"Where are they?" Grease asked.

"They disappeared as soon as you went through the portal."

"You let them escape?!" Banjo yelled.

Atari leveled her gaze at him. "No. I mean they literally disappeared. I was watching as they just….blinked out of existence."

"What are they? Ghosts?"

"Not according to any of my readings. I think they were only temporary to begin with. A skill used by the Rider who attacked us."

"So what do we do now?" Banjo asked.

"What was on the other side of the portal?" Atari asked.

"Sand. Blue sand and a purple sky. Three suns. Nothing else in sight." Popeye reported.

"And the atmosphere?"

"It seemed breathable," Popeye said. "Even for humans."

Banjo was not about to ask what that meant.

"But we couldn't even see tracks. There's no way to even tell which direction they went in." Grease reminded them.

"Actually, I think I have a solution there,' Atari said.

"Spill it." Banjo said.

"I have a Ghost Detector."

"Now is not the time to be tracking ghosts."

"Now is exactly the time. There should only be a few life signs in such a desolate place. And one of the signs that should be there is Takeru's. A part-ghost. The sensor should pick him up even in human form. And if not, it should pick up the eyecon's signatures. Assuming they stayed together, we might even be able to find them before that Rider who attacked us."

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Banjo yelled.

Atari turned to Popeye. "I have a favour," she said.

Popeye nodded encouragement.

"Could you leave the retrieval of Emu and the others to us? I think that strange Rider may be linked to the list of names I gave you before. Do you think you could stay and analyse the data? Maybe track down who it is? If we know who we are up against, we might even be able to figure out what they are after and how to stop them."

Popeye took Atari's hands and shook them with a nod.

"Bring back Emu for us," she said.

Atari smiled. "Of course."

Atari opened the portal again and Banjo stepped through.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 **

Emu sat, staring at the three moons from the entrance of their cave. The night had been long and cold but, in their shelter, it had been an acceptable temperature even for his injured companions. Being alone with his own thoughts was more dangerous than the surrounding weather. Emu hugged his legs tighter and put his chin on his knees.

He couldn't stop the thoughts of what could be happening to Parado out of his head. He'd come up with seemingly every possible scenario and none of them were good. He was sure that there must logically be happy outcomes too but his brain just did not seem to be able to conjure them.

A hand on his shoulder startled him and he turned with a hand already on his belt.

Takeru held up his hands in surrender.

"Just me," he said softly.

He was pale but the eyes didn't seem unfocused any longer. A sudden sway had Emu pulling the young man down beside him, though, and he noted that the skin still felt quite clammy to the touch.

"I thought I told you to sleep," he berated.

"I did," Takeru protested. "But I woke up."

"Then you should have gone back to sleep. A concussion is nothing to laugh at."

"I thought you might be lonely on your own."

Emu snorted.

"I'm older than you. I can handle it."

"But you're not used to being alone."

Emu twisted indignantly but instantly recognised the empathy in those eyes.

He turned back away with a sigh.

"It's quiet without him," Emu admitted.

"He's a part of you, right?" Takeru asked.

"To be precise, he kind of IS me."

"Then he'll be fine," Takeru said. "The two of you are resourceful and strong. I'm sure that wherever he is, he's working on making his way back to you right now."

Emu forced a smile.

"How did Sento look?" he asked.

"Asleep. I didn't want to wake him."

Emu nodded. "He needs the rest too."

"Do you think we should stay here once morning comes?"

Emu shifted, leaning back to look up at the purple sky.

"I think we need the shelter and the rest. If we leave, we might not find another shelter by the time night falls again. Besides, neither you nor Sento should be moving at the moment. If I had you in a hospital, you'd be bed-bound for at least a few days."

"The nightmare!" Takeru laughed.

Emu joined him but the humour didn't fill him as it should. Their jolliness died down.

"Do you think Sento can get us out of here?" Emu asked quietly.

Takeru leaned back. "If anyone can, it'll be Sento."

Emu nodded. "He's incredible. You know, he-"

Emu broke off.

"What's wrong?" Takeru asked, immediately on guard.

"Do you see that?" Emu asked, pointing to the horizon.

Takeru squinted and blinked a few times.

"Is that a person?" he asked.

Emu brightened and stood, waving his arms.

"We're here! Over here!"

The single figure adjusted course and started running towards them.

Takeru slowly stood to join Emu but he did not yell for attention and instead reached for his belt.

"Emu. I think you should suit up."

"What? Why?"

Takeru's eyes widened.

"Emu! Transform!"

Emu turned to see what had alarmed his companion.

There, across the horizon and backlit by the moon, was no longer one figure. But five. Five of the same figures.

The Unknown Rider had found them.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: Hello again all. Just wanted to say another thank you to my kind reviewers, especially Dash Master 48 who has reviewed every chapter without fail. Please take care and be kind. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 18**

Makoto had never seen anything like the sickness that had hit the Gamma World. Of course, he'd barely ever seen anyone sick in the Gamma World, but even his memories of regular illnesses had not prepared him for the epidemic they were facing now.

People were literally dropping on the spot. They went from showing no signs of infection to being virtually comatose. And the spread was phenomenal. Since Alain's collapse, almost half of the population had fallen.

Makoto could only be glad that his sister had decided to go off-world to catch up with friends two portals before the outbreak began.

It was seemingly the only thing to be glad about.

The people were suffering. One of his closest friends down with the sickness and another missing with no trace. Limited supplies and not enough hands left to care for the ill masses.

Makoto had been ordered to rest. The healers in charge were concerned he would drop of exhaustion before catching the infection. But Makoto could not sleep. Instead he chose to be by Alain's side.

Alain: his friend, saviour, and leader; sick. It seemed preposterous. He'd seen Alain shaken, upset, and injured, but never sick. The trembling skin, alarmingly thin limbs, and dark circles under the eyes were so foreign. Even defeated, he'd never seen Alain look so defenceless.

Makoto shifted uncomfortably on the chair at the thought and gently replaced the damp cloth on his friend's brow.

"Not long now," he whispered.

"Until what?" a weak voice responded.

Makoto watched with surprise as Alain opened his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, leaning forward so Alain wouldn't have to crane his neck to see him.

"Poorly," Alain said. "How are my people?"

Makoto tried not to let expression show.

"They're fine. You need to focus on yourself."

Alain struggled feebly against the sheets and reluctantly gave up when they proved too difficult an adversary for his weakened state.

"I need to help them."

Makoto offered him water. "You need to rest."

Alain turned away from the cup.

"Is help coming?"

Makoto insistently followed with the water. "Ex-Aid's friends are on the way as we speak."

Alain stilled his efforts to escape the persistent cup but did not meet Makoto's eyes.

"Have they found Takeru?" he asked quietly.

Makoto withdrew the cup.

"No."

Silence was not an unusual occurrence between the two of them but the one that followed made Makoto uncomfortable.

"He'll be fine," Makoto finally said.

Alain still did not meet his gaze.

Makoto stood and rounded the bed to check Alain was still conscious. They eyes that met him were verging on tears.

"If he was hurt by my request for assistance, I will never forgive myself," Alain declared.

"There's no shame in asking for help," Makoto refuted, slightly shaken by how fast his friend had fallen to emotion. "Takeru can handle himself."

"True, indeed, Makoto-san!" A familiar booming voice said from the doorway.

Makoto twisted to find Onari, Brave, Snipe, and two more unfamiliar faces.

Brave and Snipe swept past Makoto as Onari pulled him into an embrace.

"It is good to see you, my friend," Onari declared.

"You too," Makoto said, extracting himself from the monk's robes. "Thank you for coming."

"Are all of them like this?" Snipe interrupted.

Makoto turned to see Brave and Snipe inspecting a rather ruffled Alain. Had it not been for the situation, Makoto may have snickered at the look of hurt pride on his friend's face.

"Most are similar. Only a few regain consciousness."

"Has he been conscious the whole time?" Brave asked.

"He can answer for himself," Alain answered hotly.

"No," Makoto clarified. "Only the last ten minutes or so."

"Arm," Snipe ordered, not waiting for cooperation before pulling Alain's arm from the cover and sticking a needle in to draw blood.

Brave stuck a thermometer into Alain's mouth before he could protest and jotted down some readings.

Makoto turned from their examination to inspect the two new faces. The woman looked young and like she needed sleep almost as much as he did. She noticed him watching and stalked over confidently and held out her hand.

"Misora. I'm a friend of Build's."

"Makoto," he greeted.

The gentleman joined her side and Makoto was surprised to meet someone almost as tall as he was. The man was more solid than he, although the strange choice of shirt had Makoto less intimidated than one might expect.

"Gentoku. I work with Build."

Makoto nodded to him.

"Are you doctors?" he asked.

They both shook their heads.

"They have come to protect us in case of attack." Onari stepped in smoothly with a smile.

"Attack?" Alain brushed his doctors away and tried to sit.

Makoto quickly ran to push him back down.

"Takeru faced adversary when attempting to come to your assistance," Onari clarified. "We were concerned we may face similar circumstances."

"But nothing interfered with your transfer?" Makoto asked.

"No."

Alain relaxed a little.

"Show us the rest," Brave ordered.

Makoto nodded and looked to Onari who smiled at him.

"I shall stay with the young master," he declared and sat promptly next to a less than impressed Alain.

Makoto smiled one more time at his friend before leading Brave and Snipe out.

"How is he?" Makoto asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

The Doctors shared a look.

"He's conscious, which is a good sign," Snipe said.

"Then he will recover?"

There was silence and Makoto's heart fell.

"Do you know what it is?" Makoto asked.

"More cases will give us more information," Brave said.

"There's plenty of cases," Makoto said as they entered the main hall of the castle.

The area had been transformed into a sick bay and most of the ill had first been contained here.

Makoto didn't get to ask any more questions before the two doctors dispersed.

Makoto took the opportunity to check in with Alain's advisers and was shocked to find that more than half of the population had now been reported as infected. Makoto tried to cheer up the weary carers with news of help's arrival but the bleak reality of their situation was too permeating and few brightened at the message.

Makoto refused to let it affect him. Ex-Aid and his friends were brilliant doctors. They had experience and knowledge that the Gamma World inhabitants could only dream of. A solution couldn't be too far away.

Brave and Snipe returned to convene together and Makoto joined them.

"Do you know what it is?" he asked.

The doctors hesitated.

"No," Snipe answered.

"But you can work out a cure?"

"We have some ideas to try," Brave said, deadpan.

"Can I help?"

There was hesitation again.

"What is it?" Makoto asked.

"Did Akari-san discuss her suspicions with you?" Brave asked.

Makoto shook his head.

"The disease is man-made," Snipe said bluntly.

"What?!"

"No virus spreads this quickly and no disease develops with no prior symptoms. This is definitely not natural."

"But-"

"Is there anyone who would target the Gamma World?" Brave asked.

"I-I don't know. But Akari asked for a list of the people who left world in the last portal. Just before the illness began."

Brave and Snipe nodded.

"If we can find the culprit or the original pathogen, we could develop a cure almost instantly."

"And without either?" Makoto asked.

"Trial and Error."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"No more than leaving it to its course. Untreated, I suspect most of the people here will pass within a week."

"A week?!"

"Maybe sooner."

"Then let's get started," Makoto said. "What do you need me to do?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Parado pulled on his chains for what felt like the hundredth time. His strength had returned with his growing concern over Emu but the slightly loose cuff he'd bet his hope on was stubbornly staying shut.

Whatever had been in his system was almost completely gone and Parado was already planning a few steps ahead as he pulled, shook, and rattled the chain to enable his escape. Emu was not going to be at the Temple anymore. Build's portal would have transferred him somewhere safe. But where? Ghost's Gamma world? Build's world? Or perhaps even back to the Hospital? Without a direct link to Emu and no phone, he couldn't make contact to check. So his plan was to go to the Hospital. Even if Emu hadn't gone back there, Poppy or one of the others would surely know where he was. And if not, they could track him from there.

The key to winning would be whether or not he could beat the Unknown Rider to the punch. He couldn't be sure but it had seemed like she had some idea of where to find Emu. The time it had taken for her to resort to chasing him, however, made Parado think that she hadn't always known, which might even mean that she wasn't sure exactly where he was. Besides which, Emu was a Rider. And he had Build and Ghost with him. Without the element of surprise, Parado was confident Emu could come up with a way to clear the match or at least delay it until Parado's arrival.

Which bought him back, yet again, to the topic of escape.

CHINK

Parado glanced over to the cuff, hopeful at the unfamiliar new noise.

Indeed, the cuff was verging on opening.

He gave the chain one more hefty shake and his hand slipped free. He took no time to revel in the progression. On to the next step.

He grabbed the second cuff and fiddled with it for a moment. With one hand free, lock picking skills he had gained from previous challenges became accessible and he had the second cuff undone in no time.

He pushed of the bed and fought buckling legs to stumble to the cabinet. He opened one draw to find the empty syringes he suspected had to be housed there. Another draw held a strange machine of which he had no intent to uncover the purpose of. A third draw held vials of liquid. Probably what he had been injected with. He pocketed one of those. Emu would want to know what it was.

There were keys, padlocks, and cuffs in the bottom draw and nothing on top. Nothing else to help him uncover the purpose or identity of the woman who had held him. Nothing to help him attack or defend against her either. Best to get out of here quickly then.

Parado moved to the door, his legs being slightly more cooperative after some use, and he turned the knob slowly.

With practiced caution, he checked for further enemies or traps and found nothing so he proceeded. Outside his prison was an empty hallway. No people. No weapons. No cameras. Not even wallpaper. Just a whitewashed corridor with carpeted floor. There was a door at one end and an opening into a larger room at the other. He turned in that direction and crept through.

Again, there was no one and nothing in what he assumed used to be a lounge room. He stepped into the empty space and an alarm immediately sounded. Retreating into the hallway did not stop the alarm so Parado bolted through the room instead, heart pounding.

Was she coming? What if there were more like her? He had no weapon and no energy to transform.

Breath seared through his throat as he ran and he thought he could hear footsteps behind him.

Panicked, he clawed at a locked door, spending more time on it than was logical.

A quick glance over his shoulder showed no Rider but armed guards coming down the hall.

Parado scanned his surroundings. The hallway was definitely not an option. The locked door would take time. The window…

BANG!

A bullet sunk into the wall beside him. No more time to waste.

Parado bolted for the window and didn't slow. He smashed through the glass and curled into a ball, rolling as he hit the ground. The blow took his already limited breath away and his body shivered with pain as he forced himself to stand. He used his recklessness as an opportunity to disappear down a backstreet and set himself into a pace.

He vaguely recognised the neighbourhood and pushed himself to set course.

I'm coming Emu. I'm coming.

Poppy Pipopapo was trying very hard to distract herself from thinking of her companions. A part of her screamed that she should be there with them, fighting this strange new Rider and helping track their lost friends. But the other part of her knew that their forces needed to be divided. They needed knowledge to win. Something to give them the upper hand. Something to help work out what was going on and why this Rider was trying so hard to stop them.

And Poppy's main skills were gathering knowledge. It was part of being a Bugster. Learning was one of their core strategies and her intimate access to the internet made things even more efficient. Which meant that tracking down the 20 people on the list Akari had given her should have been easy.

It was not.

The first 15 had been easy enough to find. They'd checked into a hotel, posted photos with friends, or paid for food using local currency. The other five were much harder. The regular day to day traces a normal person should leave simply weren't there.

Time to try another tact then. She searched for research records, document requests, and archive accesses. Ah. Found them. Three more. Nothing suspicious about their activities either.

Hmm. Two more. What else?

Perhaps cameras? No. She didn't even know the appearance of the two she was looking for. Then what about police records?

Oh. Yep. There was another one. Arrested for suspicious loitering. Perhaps he was the one? Poppy accessed the record. She frowned as she read through. No. Probably not this one. Apparently they had been salivating at a Takoyaki stand for over 12 hours. That didn't seem like the sign of a criminal. Just a normal Gamma World citizen who'd never been to Regular Earth before.

That left one. But of course Poppy couldn't just assume it was the one. She had to be sure. And she needed information. But at least now there was just the one name. So Poppy researched the final name.

Her eyes snapped open. Got it. That was the one. And she had to tell the others. Right away.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Takeru equipped Ghost's form and quickly upgraded to his ultimate form, sure he would need it. He had just enough time to register that Emu had managed to transform into Ex-Aid before the five forms on the Unknown Rider were upon them.

Takeru fought in close quarters, trying to avoid the blows he could but knowing that if he wanted to block the entrance, he was going to take a few. The first one that fell pummelled into his stomach and his already fragile diaphragm spasmed. If he'd had anything left to upheave, it would have been in his mask. Instead, he found himself utterly breathless.

Another blow struck his head, sending shooting stars careening through his vision. The armour protected him from the worst but he widened his stance to ensure his vertigo didn't topple him. He gathered his strength and managed to use his hissatsu to take down one of his three adversaries. The other two backed away and Takeru felt a moment of positivity as he pursued them outdoors. Perhaps they would be more wary now. The appearance of flaming hands on both remaining figures returned him to the harsh reality.

He managed to duck the first attack and jumped another but the third and fourth hit him square in the shoulder and he was thrown into the outer wall of their small shelter.

He scrambled to his feet as quickly as possible with a glance over his shoulder to check that Emu was keeping the other two occupied.

Ex-Aid seemed to be doing much better than he. Both opponents were pinned to the ground and Ex-Aid was preparing a final attack to take both of them out.

Best to focus on his own problems then.

The two figures, fists flaming once more, ran at him. Takeru steadied himself and spread his arms. The first figure collided with him as expected but the other jumped.

No!

Takeru spun to stop the escaped figure and managed to snatch hold of an ankle as the second figure slammed him to the ground.

Takeru firmed his hold, grabbing on with both hands. He had to stop them. Sento was still inside.

The first figure planted a flaming fist into Takeru's back and he gritted his teeth: the breath he hadn't quite regained completely stopped again. The second figure turned and kicked Ghost in the head. Everything spun and the world spluttered like a bad internet connection. Another fist went into his side and pain ricocheted down his arm as a booted foot slammed onto one of his wrists. Takeru's transformation dissipated but he tightened his grip.

He couldn't let go.

He could see another flaming attack being formed but his tired brain couldn't process what type of attack it actually was. He tensed, prepared for the incoming impact.

A shadow covered him.

Emu?

Takeru twisted to get a better look. No. Not Emu. Emu was in the other corner. One of his opponents was gone but the other had him by the throat. Something must have gone wrong but Emu still seemed to have it under control. Even as Takeru watched, Ex-Aid slammed a high kick into the Unknown Rider's face and they separated, both breathing heavily as they each readied another attack.

But then who?

Takeru squinted up at the two figures above him. They were both moving, their swift actions making it hard to identify which was which, let alone who the new mystery figure was.

A yank on his arms stole Takeru's attention, bringing it back to the Unknown Rider trying to get to Sento. A kick to the side of the head greeted him as he turned and he felt everything darken. Hands pried his fingers loose. No. He couldn't let go. Sento. They would get Sento. He had to protect him. He had to-

The mystery figure hit the escaping mystery Rider over the head and quickly retreated to Takeru's side.

"Can you stand?" a familiar voice asked.

"Sento?" Takeru whispered.

He peered up to find it was indeed Build. The red and blue armour shone with reflected moon shine and the head was searching for new enemies.

"If you can get up, we should run," Sento advised, pulling Takeru to his feet with one hand. The other arm stayed held tight to Sento's side.

In the armour, nothing seemed wrong other than a stiff arm but Takeru had seen enough while Emu had been treating the scientist to know that couldn't be the case.

Once the ground stopped swaying beneath him, he managed to stay upright and he felt Sento's side press into his as he looped Takeru's arm around his shoulder.

"Where's Emu?" Sento called.

"Just outside," Takeru replied.

He felt Sento's weight shift and he followed his lead as they shuffled back to the entrance.

Ex-Aid came flying through and slammed into the back wall.

Takeru separated from Sento and used the wall to support him as he went to help Ex-Aid up.

Takeru helped Emu stand as Sento turned to the entrance and prepared a hissatsu designed to collapse the entrance and lock their enemies outside. He wasn't quick enough. Quickly abandoning his initial plan, Sento retreated to Takeru and Ex-Aid just as the remaining three Riders surrounded them.

Takeru tried to transform but he couldn't even equip his Ore jacket and the base transformation quickly cancelled out. He tried again to no avail. Ex-Aid looked worse for wear with a number of chars on his uniform and one leg wobbling violently even as they simply stood still. Build took point, fiddling with something Takeru couldn't see, but all of them knew this was going to be a one sided fight.

"Found them!" a new voice made everyone turn.

The three Unknown Riders dispersed as two more unfamiliar Riders entered the fray. Wait. One of them seemed a little familiar. A blue dragon motif. Where did he…

"Banjo!" Build exclaimed from behind him.

"Yo!" the Blue Dragon waved before re-engaging with one of the Unknown Riders.

Right. Banjo Ryuga. Kamen Rider Cross-Z. From the Enigma incident.

"I'm here too!" yelled the other Rider.

Sento didn't acknowledge this one but Takeru heard Banjo yell something about Grease. Emu didn't acknowledge either. Another one from the Build world, then.

A third figure entered their small shelter and Takeru felt his heart jumped as he recognised it.

"Akari!" he yelled.

Her head snapped to his position and he smiled as he saw the relief on her face.

She took an outskirt route but one of the Unknown Riders still targeted her. No. Takeru launched himself towards her. The blood pumped in his ears as his legs gave out in an attempt to reach her.

"Akari!"

Everything went into slow motion as Akari ran, eyes fixated on Takeru even as the Unknown Rider loomed behind her.

"AKARI! BEHIND YOU!"

Akari turned, eyes widening. She had no time left to defend herself. The Rider was almost upon her.

And then he stopped. Build and Ex-Aid stood firmly in his way.

"Thank you," Akari said, turning again and running the rest of the way.

Takeru sank back against the wall as Akari skidded to her knees beside him.

"Are you ok?!" she asked.

He nodded. "Are you?"

"I'm fine."

"How did you get here?" Takeru asked.

"Build left us a Portal. It took a while to track you down."

She looked back at the fight raging behind her, taking in the pained movements of Ex-Aid and Build as well as the frantic back-wheeling of Grease and Cross-Z.

"Do you know who that Rider is?"

Takeru shook his head. "Do you?"

"Not yet. But we're working on it."

Takeru caught her hand. "Have you heard from Makoto and Alain? They needed help."

"We sent some of Ex-Aid's friends through," Akari assured him. "Onari went too."

An explosion of heat took their focus back to the fight. All four familiar Riders were thrown back. Something flew from Build's hand as the transformation came undone. Sento didn't rise to retrieve whatever it was and an Unknown Rider stooped and pocketed whatever it was. Takeru hoped it wasn't important because there was no one around who was currently capable of getting it back.

"We need to get out of here," Akari said.

"Can you do it?" Takeru asked.

Akari didn't reply but fiddled with a small device that quickly created a sphere of light in the sky.

"Go through!" she said.

"You first!" Takeru replied.

"Don't argue!" Grease yelled, dragging an unresponsive Sento and jumping through.

Ex-Aid went next.

"Cross-Z! Quick!" Takeru called to their final companion, frantically holding off the three Riders as they advanced.

"Go through!" he yelled, motioning them away.

Takeru grabbed Akari's hand and they jumped through.

The scenery swirled to form the surroundings of Ex-Aid's hospital. They stumbled as they came out but managed to clear the space before Cross-Z came flailing through.

"Close it!" he ordered.

Akari pressed a button and the portal snapped shut.

The transformations came undone and they all let out a collected sigh of relief.

"Well that was close," said Banjo.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Poppy heard the thump that signified someone falling out of a portal. She broke her link to the internet and exited her arcade game to resume her physical form. She ran to the hallway whose coordinates the exit point had been set to. The hallway was crowded. A good sign.

She sifted through the bruised faces and fluttering bandages, intent to confirm her suspicions. There: a tattered white coat, shredded pink shirt, and broken stethoscope. Poppy carefully manoeuvred through the dazed forms and pulled Emu into a hug.

"Emu! I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Poppy."

She could almost hear the smile in his voice but it was still a surprise when he collapsed in her arms.

"Emu?!"

He waved her off casually.

"I'm alright. Just need to sit down for a bit."

Poppy assessed that statement for herself as he settled on the floor. She took in the light burns on his arms and upper body and pursed her lips as she noticed the less than casual hand gripping the one leg straightened at an uncomfortable angle.

"Sento's still out of it. Is there a Doctor?" Banjo's voice rang from behind her.

She spun to see that Build was indeed unconscious. The number of bandages visible beneath his tattered cloak was alarming too.

"Takeru needs treatment too," Akari called.

"I'm ok, Akari Help Build first."

One look at him told Poppy Ghost was definitely not ok. The red eyes, pale skin, and sallow cheeks coupled with a head bandage indicated a concussion.

"You are not ok!" Akari agreed with Poppy's assessment.

"We have to get to the others in the Gamma World," Takeru insisted, standing quickly before trying to sink inconspicuously back against the wall.

"Other Doctors are helping your friends," Poppy said. "Wait here."

She didn't wait for a reply and returned later with the best doctors left in the ward excepting Emu himself.

Banjo lifted Sento onto a gurney and he and Grease followed the doctors as they rushed Build away.

Akari helped a reluctant Takeru to a different gurney and they left too.

Poppy returned to Emu just as the doctors reached him.

"I'm ok," he said. "Help the others."

Poppy pulled him up using both hands and sat him gently onto the waiting gurney.

"A doctor is no good to anyone injured. Let them take a look," she advised.

Emu quietened and Poppy went with them into the intensive care.

What she saw over the next two hours was nothing new for her but it would have left those with weaker stomachs in need of special care themselves. Akari, Banjo, and Kazumi had been asked to leave politely some time ago and Poppy found herself thinking of them as she removed her gloves.

She exited the intensive care unit calmly and all three stood up at the sight of her.

She smiled.

"None of them were in serious danger," she relayed, aware of the tension.

All three visibly relaxed.

"They're all sleeping at the moment. You'll be able to visit them soon."

"How bad was it?" Akari asked quietly.

Poppy hesitated.

"They need time to recover," she said tactfully.

She didn't want to relay that Emu had been the best off and even his recovery time was looking to be at least two weeks.

"Are the three of you ok?" Poppy asked, trying to change the subject.

Banjo wound his arm vigorously.

"Just a few bruises," he said with a lopsided smile.

Kazumi nodded agreement and Akari shook her head to indicate she had no injuries.

"They were attacked by that Rider we saw?" Poppy asked.

All three nodded.

"Did you find out who it might be?" Akari asked.

"I finished analysing the list," Poppy confirmed. "And there's something you need to know."

"The Rider is Amu Kimura," Poppy bought up a visual of the Rider on the nearby screens.

"A girl?!" Banjo spluttered.

"She's that strong?!" Kazumi asked, equally aghast.

"How do you know for sure?" Akari, ever logical, asked.

"She worked on Enigma."

There was a shocked silence.

Poppy continued. "She left a little before the Engima experiment went wrong to start a new project. They were working on strengthening humanity's immune system. She was fired last year for working on a virus. She wanted to kill any humans without strong enough anti-body mechanisms without medicine. She wanted to stop the mutation of basic viruses due to medical intervention. She believed with those with strong anti-bodies would be more durable and diseases would advance at a rate which science could keep up with."

The shocked silence continued.

"I believe a version of the virus she was working on has been released into the Gamma World," Poppy finished sympathetically.

"But it is affecting almost everyone."

"I have heard that those in the Gamma World had their physical bodies preserved in a cryogenic state and used an eyecon form to live an almost immortal life up until recently."

"Yes," Akari confirmed, ignoring the shock on Banjo and Kazumi's faces.

"I believe that perhaps their immune system did not fully develop during this time. Most of them have probably never even encountered a common cold before, let alone a virus like this one."

"Do you think it was her intent to kill them all?" Akari asked.

Poppy shook her head. "I suspect she wanted a closed system to test her virus. She likely found out about the Gamma World through her connections and the Enigma research. With such a limited population and it's disconnection with other realms, it would have seemed the perfect opportunity."

Akari shook her head. "That's so cruel."

"I assume she got to the Gamma World initially using the regular portals your friends have been making to transfer supplies and expose their populace to the Regular World. She will have judged the frequency of these portals and disguised herself as a returning citizen before leaving through the next portal when she was done."

Banjo and Kazumi looked at each other.

"So this lady made everyone sick, right?" Banjo asked, scratching his head. "But why did she attack Sento?"

Poppy turned to him. "She did not want anyone interfering with her experiment."

"That's it?" Kazumi asked.

Poppy nodded sadly. "I believe so."

"This lady needs someone to teach her a lesson," Banjo said, smashing one fist into his other palm.

"Agreed," said Kazumi.

"Isn't she trapped in the world Emu was?" Poppy asked.

"Yep. She's a sitting duck!" Banjo grinned.

"I think-"

Akari's suggestion was cut short by a crash.

Poppy turned and ran back into the CR Lab.

One of the windows was shattered and a dark figure stumbled toward her.

Banjo and Kazumi grabbed their bottles and Akari pulled a strange device from somewhere. Poppy held up her hand, squinting her eyes. Something about the figure looked familiar. It lurched closer, overturning a tray table with a crash and tripping on a cord. It reached her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Where's Emu?" it asked desperately.

And then Parado collapsed.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Taiga and Hiiro rarely agreed but the need to develop a cure overrode any arguments. If it was always like this, perhaps Taiga could work with the man in earnest after all.

They had separated their jobs, with Hiiro analysing the virus itself and Taiga mixing and matching different prescriptions. So far, nothing had worked. Hiiro had confirmed it was definitely man-made and Taiga had tried more than 50 different solutions but none were showing any effect. Taiga was not worried. He had assumed that it would take time to get favourable results.

Medicine was a difficult substance, after all. Most cures would have taken hundreds of scientists decades to come up with a solution. But Hiiro and Taiga agreed that the virus appeared to be a mutation of existing ailments. Thus, it made sense to them that a variation of the respective cures should work to some extent. Mixing, matching, and modifying was much easier than creating.

Ghost's friend stayed close by. Hiiro had recommended the young man sleep and Taiga had been in silent agreement but apparently that suggestion had already been offered by the local medics. The man didn't seem to be able to implement it. Taiga allowed his presence party out of a lack of time to forcefully correct it and partly in the hope that the young man would relax at the sight of capable assistance. It hadn't worked so far.

Their lack of time to cordon off their work space had led to some other infractions of their privacy. Build's friends had decided they had to be around the action too. Taiga had quickly put them to work administering medication but their return always came too soon.

A bright light behind him had Taiga flinch and he turned to reprimand whoever it was that was interrupting his work but instead found an open portal.

"Brave!" Taiga called, jerking his head in the direction of the portal when Hiiro looked up at him.

Hiiro came over.

"Did they find Emu already?" he mused.

"Sento!" Misora and Gentoku joined them.

A prickle of heat was their only warning.

A fireball sped through the portal, slamming into the piles of paperwork Hiiro and Taiga had compiled for their research.

Taiga tackled Misora as a second fireball followed, this one hitting a little closer to home.

Six identical Unknown Riders poured out from the portal.

Taiga released his hold on Misora.

"Get the sick to safety!" he ordered.

She nodded and ran. Taiga turned his attention back to the Unknown Riders. One was almost upon him.

Quickly, he transformed, calmly taking aim before firing at his assailant.

The shot slowed the Rider but didn't stop it. Taiga kept firing, backing away as he went. Close range was not his specialty.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Build's other friend had transformed to help and was holding off two attackers while Brave tried to protect the remainder of their research from yet another. Makoto held off another attacker as Spectre. That left one. Taiga fired a hissatsu shot to give himself some extra time as he skidded into the hallway to find the final Unknown Rider.

It didn't take long. The final Rider was rummaging through the archives. Searching for a record? Or perhaps just looking to destroy more of their hard work.

Taiga took a shot at him but a tackle from behind threw his shot wide. He grappled with the Rider that had followed him from the main hall. The Sixth Rider stood and began running to the next room. Taiga threw off his attacker and gave chase.

The Sixth Rider was almost to the next door when a flash of green and white blindsided him.

"What's happening? Who are these lowlifes?" The green and white Rider called to him.

Taiga had just enough time to register that voice as belonging to the sick leader of the Gamma People - Alain. Then a fireball hit him from behind. Taiga shook his head and turned to face his adversary, adjusting the grip on his gun.

"What do you want?" he asked.

The Unknown Rider did not answer him.

Taiga fired six rapid shots to keep that Rider at a distance before running to help Alain. The kid was trying his best but the virus had obviously taken its toll and his attacks were not going to be enough to keep the Sixth Rider from taking him out soon.

Taiga combined his hissatsu with the one Alain already had prepared and grabbed the boy as his transformation came undone. They ducked together as their attack exploded, the heat searing their backs.

They turned as one to find the Sixth Rider gone. The Rider Taiga had initially been fighting turned and ran.

Taiga and Alain shared a glance before sprinting back to the main hall.

"Combine your attacks!" they yelled together.

Specter obeyed instantly, merging a pre-prepared attack with that of Gentoku. There was a blast of smoke and no Unknown Rider left in its wake when it cleared.

The remaining three Riders in the room ran for it.

"Wait right there!"

Taiga, Brave, Specter, Rouge, and Necrom raced after their adversaries. They pushed through the evacuating crowd and past the burning archives through to the main courtyard outdoors.

There were the remaining four Unknown Riders.

Alain stumbled behind them as Taiga began preparing a vicious attack. The other Riders also prepared their own attacks.

One of the Unknown Riders pulled out a remote and opened the portal.

"No!" Alain yelled as the four disappeared and the portal flashed shut.

"That looked like Sento's remote," Gentoku mused.

"Are you all ok?" Misora asked, huffing with the effort it had taken to follow them.

"We're fine," Taiga said. "What about the cures?"

Misora shook her head. "They destroyed everything. We'll need to start again."

Alain collapsed to his knees and Makoto went to him as his own transformation came undone.

"At least we have a way to stop them, now," Brave said as he undid his transformation.

Taiga nodded.

"Time to pass that on," he said.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Sento's head hurt. It was not an unusual state for him but it always concerned him. A single hit to the head killed over 100 brain cells. For him to still be feeling the effects could only be bad news for his brain. And without his gadgets, Sento wasn't quite sure where he'd be. They were reliable. Maybe they didn't always work but they rarely did anything completely unexpected and they were there like old friends when he needed them most.

Like his leg: which also hurt. Or his arm: which hurt even more. Why did he hurt so much? Had one of his experiments exploded? Had Banjo finally given up patience on waiting for his latest upgrade? Or had Misora realised he'd taken the last chocolate from the fridge again?

None of those scenarios seemed quite right.

Sento forced his eyes open, intent to gather further reference points for his quandry.

A lot of unfamiliar faces greeted him.

Sento jolted upright. Or tried to. The sheets around him were tucked in tightly and there were quite a few cords coming from places he couldn't quite see.

"Where am I?" he asked, trying to work his uninjured arm free of the crisp white sheets.

"Build?" one of the figures asked.

He stopped at the reference to his Rider name and took a closer look at one of the nurses. She looked familiar. He was sure he'd seen her before but where…

"Poppy Pipopapo?" he asked hesitantly.

She smiled, the expression strange without the bright pink hair and red lipstick he was used to.

"Why-" he started.

Poppy put a finger to her lips and winked at him.

He took the hint and by the time everyone had left, Sento had managed to recall everything.

"Where are the others?" Sento asked once only he and Poppy were left.

"They're ok," Poppy said, pulling the covers free and helping him to stand. "Takeru woke up a few hours ago and Emu's up and about already."

Sento moved gingerly as Poppy handed him his IV train.

"They told you about the other Rider?"

"We already knew. We've been working on identifying them."

"And?"

"And your friends can fill you in shortly. They've been waiting hours to see you."

Sento followed her, keen to argue, until he saw Misora, Gentoku, Kazumi, and Banjo.

They all saw him at the same time and the following moments were too much for him to register in his slightly woozy state. There was a lot of yelling, pats on the back and hair ruffling.

He was helped towards the tables and chairs of the waiting area. To his surprise, Takeru was already sitting nearby, also surrounded by friends. Sento gave him a wave as they passed and Takeru grinned at him.

Sento looked around.

"Where's Emu?" Sento asked Poppy as she slapped Banjo's hand for giving Sento an extra enthusiastic shove onto a waiting chair.

"He's with Parado."

"You found him?!" Sento asked.

Poppy nodded. "He's-"

"Parado's awake!" Someone called.

The reaction was immediate. Everyone was moving and Sento was hoisted upright by Banjo before he could even protest. He was dragged through the hallway and squeezed into the crowded hospital room that presumably held Parado.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" Sento heard Emu sobbing. "What happened to you? Where have you been? How were you hurt?"

The crowd shifted and Sento finally caught sight of the strange man he had tentatively befriended during the Enigma incident. The Bugster certainly looked worse for wear. He was as pale has he had been before collapsing after using the Ex-Aid bottle and there was a bold cut on his forehead as well as bandages wrapped around the wrists propped atop the covers. Parado sat up and grabbed Emu's wrist.

"She's coming for you," he said.

"What? Who?"

"The Unknown Rider. She was looking for you."

"It's ok. We escaped."

"She won't stop. She's crazy."

"Did she do this to you?"

"I'm fine. Her injection didn't even do anything other than make me a little dizzy."

"She injected you with something?!"

"I'll run some extra tests," Poppy interjected.

"No need," Parado said, shifting uncomfortably and pulling something from the pocket of his colourful pants.

He lifted the bottle and gave it to Emu.

"What is this?" Emu asked.

"A vial of whatever she put in me."

"I'll analyse it!" Poppy offered, snatching the bottle from Emu's grasp.

Sento was pulled aside to make way for Poppy as she ran from the room.

Someone's phone rang in the ensuing silence and Akari took the call.

"Hiiro? How are you guys going?" There was a short pause. "What?! Are you all ok?" Tension filled the room and everyone's attention shifted.

"How much?" she continued, expression dark. "Yeah. Her name is Amu Kimura. She worked on the Enigma project too."

Her expression lightened. "Really?" she made eye contact with Takeru and then the others. "I'll pass it on. What about the cure?"

She waited again and this time her gaze shifted to Parado. She covered the mouthpiece.

"When did she inject you?"

Parado shook his head. "I don't know. When I woke up? But whatever it was is gone. She said the test she ran came back clean."

Akari made eye contact with Emu this time and Sento watched as the Doctor's eyes widened. Sento had come to the same conclusion as the two of them. Parado was likely another test subject for the virus. His different biology would have negated the effects but the virus had been in his system. As he had experienced some symptoms, it was even likely that his body had produced anti bodies. The very same anti-bodies that could be used to create a cure for the Gamma World residents.

"I think we may have a solution," Akari said into the phone. "I'll call you back soon…yep. You too. Talk to you soon."

She hung up.

"They were attacked," she explained. "The Unknown Rider destroyed their research but no one was seriously hurt. They think combination attacks can take out the copies."

"How did they get to the Gamma World?" Takeru asked.

"My remote," Sento realised, checking his coat to confirm his suspicions. "I must have dropped it."

Akari nodded and turned to Parado. "We think you may have the key to the cure. If Poppy's tests come back positive, can we take some blood?"

Parado nodded.

As if summoned, Poppy came rushing back to the room, charts in hand.

"I think it's the virus from the Gamma World!" she exclaimed.

"I'll do the tests," Emu said.

"You should rest," Akari protested.

"I need to see this through," Emu said firmly.

"I'll stay with him," Poppy said.

Akari reneged and put her efforts toward ushering the rest of them out of the room. They waited out the door in a bundle of thoughtful silence.

"I want to go," Takeru said.

"You've got a concussion!' Akari argued.

"We need to go," Sento said.

"Idiot!" Banjo said, slapping him over the back of the head. "You can barely stand. We can handle it."

"Combination attacks are required," Sento said, rubbing the back of his head and fending off another attack simultaneously. "We do not know the limit of her copying ability. We need all the Riders we've got to play it safe."

"You guys are hurt. Hissatsu attacks will only do more damage."

"We'll take it easy," Takeru said quietly.

"She's got a portal remote," Sento said. "If we fail, it won't only be the Gamma World Residents we have to worry about."

"Fine. But only if you rest until we are ready to fight this Kimura-san."

"But how will we find her?" Kazumi asked.

"She will come back to make sure her experiment doesn't fail," Akari reasoned. "She's testing it because she's not sure it'll work. She will definitely check on the Gamma World to make sure it's working."

"I can set up an alert to notify us when she's on the Gamma World," Sento said.

"You can?" Banjo and Kazumi looked at him in surprise.

Sento smiled smugly. "Of course. I'm a genius."

Less than 20 hours passed before the alert came through.

"I've locked her remote's access. She's trapped there until the next portal," Sento said.

"We've just finished analysing the cure," Emu said.

"Everyone ready?" Takeru asked.

There was a nod of mutual agreement so Sento opened the portal and they all stepped through.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Emu stepped into what he assumed must be the Gamma World. The pink sky and desolate surroundings reminded him of the strange world they had recently been marooned on. He let the shiver pass and glanced over at Parado, reassuring himself that his other half was really safe. Parado noticed and gave him a look. Emu looked away and didn't elaborate.

"We should hand over the supplies to the medical corps and gather backup first," Emu said instead.

There was a wordless consensus and Takeru lead the way to Gamma World's main city. The landscape greened as they got closer and Emu found himself impressed by what had obviously been new progress. Then, as they passed through the main gates, Emu was immediately hit with just how big a problem this limited population had been facing. Knowing the makeup of the virus and how to cure it didn't really prepare him for the moaning forms lining the streets and the frantic others lifting the ill or bringing food and water to the sick. No one even noticed their arrival: they were all either too sick or too busy.

Emu felt a pang of guilt. If they had just left a little earlier... If he had just grabbed his stuff quicker or convinced the others sooner…

"It's not your fault," Parado said, putting a bandaged hand on Emu's shoulder.

Emu nodded but didn't agree.

Takeru had picked up the pace, the reality of the situation apparently alarming to him too, and they raced through the streets to the main structure.

The building was literally packed with the ill. Every space was utilised for the sick or for medical supplies. They basically had to tip toe through the resting and unconscious.

A person with a white coat ran to them.

"You're here!" the unfamiliar person exclaimed. "You have the cure?"

"We bought supplies and instructions on how to form the necessary concoction," Emu said, handing over the materials.

"Where's Makoto and Alain?" Takeru asked.

The person pointed, busying themselves with gathering Emu's offered materials.

Emu bowed to the person as they left but they were in much too much of a hurry to notice. Emu smiled. They were dedicated and focused. The Gamma World's people were in good hands.

Parado nudged him and Emu spun to catch up with the crowd as they rushed to another room.

Takeru threw open the doors and a number of familiar faces greeted them.

"Hiiro! Taiga!" Emu grinned.

Both of them looked up and then looked back away as if they couldn't care less that Emu was there. Emu, flanked by Parado, went to them anyway.

"How has it been?"

"I think you can tell," Taiga said.

"Did you bring the cure?" Hiiro asked.

"I handed it over a few minutes ago."

They both nodded.

"Has there been any sign of the other Rider?" Emu asked.

Taga and Hiiro shook their heads. "None. They must be hiding."

"Sento will be able to find them," Emu said confidently, turning to survey the room.

Sento was surrounded by some faces Emu didn't realise but Sento obviously knew them. They were prodding at his injuries. Emu frowned at the roughhousing but didn't interfere.

Takeru and Akari had placed themselves by the sides of Specter and Necrom. Specter looked very tired. In fact, Emu would have diagnosed him with exhaustion if he had been the physician in charge. Another fight might be too much for him. But Necrom looked even worse. He was even thinner than when they had last met, and his confident demeanour was spoilt by tremors and flushed skin. Only the determined eyes and coloured hair looked reminiscent of the man he had met in past encounters.

Emu's frown deepened. Would they really be able to do this? They had a lot of Riders, sure, but none of them were in optimal condition. In fact, more than half of them should have been bed bound for at least 4 weeks.

And yet they were going to go up against a full strength Rider with powerful attacks and the ability to clone themselves. Even knowing the Unknown Rider's weakness might not be enough to actually take them down.

"We have a problem!" an unfamiliar voice called.

One of the Gamma World Doctors rushed into the room.

"What's happening?" Alain stood shakily and drew himself to a reliable height.

"I'm sorry, sir. The portal tech is missing."

Emu looked to Takeru.

"The way the Gamma World opens portals to the Regular World," he explained.

"She took it," Makoto said, fist tightening.

"How long do we have?" Sento asked.

"It usually takes less than an hour to generate enough power to create the portal."

"So we have to go after her now."

Emu cleared his throat.

"Are we sure about this?" he asked.

Everyone looked at him blankly.

"Perhaps some of us should stay to help with the cure," Emu defended.

The expressions darkened on the faces of some of the key individuals he hadn't directly named.

"We've been through this," Sento said. "We need the firepower."

"We do," Emu agreed. "But some of us won't be able to provide much."

"A little is better than none," Takeru said.

Parado grabbed his shoulders and spun him to face him.

"I'm going," he said firmly.

Emu looked at the determined faces around him and sighed.

"Ok. We need to find this Rider, then."

"This child can help with that," Sento said and from somewhere in the deep pockets of his beige jacket, he produced a small box with an antennae on it.

Everyone gathered around and waited with their breath held.

Sento looked around at his sudden crowd with surprise.

"It could take a while," Sento said and the shoulders of many in the circle dropped.

"Don't get us all excited, man," Banjo griped.

"Still, I'm amazed he can do this at all. I mean, when did he have time to make that?" Akari said.

"Don't leave him in a hospital room with nothing else to do," Kazumi warned. "I think this idiot's going to make some people at your hospital very unhappy."

A loud BING from the device shocked them all to attention.

Sento ruffled his hair until it stood up and looked up at the crowd around him.

"Found her," he said with a shrug.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: I apologise for the delay on this chapter. Next chapter will be the last one. Please enjoy~**

**Chapter 25**

Takeru rushed through the eerily familiar outskirts of the Gamma World. They had less than half an hour before the machine would have enough power to open the portal. Transformed, they had enough speed and strength to move individually but the strain of keeping the transformation up was already niggling at the back of Takeru's mind and he was sure he wasn't the only one. He hoped they were close. If it was too much further, there was a chance they wouldn't have enough power to subdue the Unknown Rider.

As if prompted by Takeru's internal thoughts, Build held up a hand. Takeru upped the pace to join Build at the crest of the sand dune and they all looked down.

There she was. The Unknown Rider. She stood surrounded by billowing dust as the harsh winds whipped around her. The portal machine was nearby, whirring as it charged. She turned, her gold mask shining against the black of the rest of her suit.

She held up a vial in silent warning.

Takeru stepped forward.

"Kimura-san," he said gently, gratified to see the surprised tilt of her head at the mention of her real name. "You need to stop. What you are doing will not work."

She did not respond.

"We have a cure," Takeru said. "Please, stop here."

"What I am doing is right," she said, her voice soft but firm. "Humanity will die out if we rely on modern medicine."

"Killing others isn't right. The field of medicine would love your expertise. We can work together to find a solution."

"This is the solution."

"It's not a solution. It's a last resort."

Takeru tensed as the Riders behind him began to power up.

Kimura lowered her hand to her belt and slowly pulled it, the flash of light temporarily blinding as she cloned herself. The resulting eleven versions of herself carefully spread out.

"We don't have to fight," Takeru said. "Put the vials down and come with us."

"Don't talk of things you don't understand."

Sento drew Takeru back as a fireball began the fight.

Takeru shook his head in frustration.

"When is someone just going to listen to reason?" he muttered to himself as he gathered all of his eyecons and transformed into his ultimate form, the shimmering armour almost blinding in the Gamma World's light.

Takeru threw himself into the fray.

The fight was mayhem. Fireballs exploded at random, the showering sand lowering visibility to a viscosity like smoke. Struggling forms shifted in and out of the ensuing dust storm and flashes from attacks lit the cloud like lightning.

Takeru teamed with the Mighty Brothers to take down one of the clones just as a massive wall of fire streaked from the smoke cloud, throwing him to the ground. Sore but not injured, he pushed upright and tried to find the Mighty Brothers again. They were nowhere to be seen but another clone was hurtling towards him.

Takeru raised his arms to protect himself and took the initial blow on his forearms. He tried to attack back but even his hissatsu attacks did little damage.

"Takeru!"

Spectre appeared out of nowhere and Takeru quickly readied a synchronised attack.

The clone disappeared as Takeru landed, breathing heavily as the effort from the attack drained out of him.

"There's still 6 more!" Spectre yelled as he disappeared into the red dust once more.

Takeru gathered his breath and threw himself into the whirlwind.

An unusually bright light drew his attention and Takeru waded through towards it.

Gold flashed as an armoured fist split the dust and slammed into his chin. Takeru wheeled back but maintained his balance. He went in low for a tackle and met solid resistance. They both went down with the momentum and Takeru leaped back as fast as his bruised body would allow. He was greeted by the Unknown Rider and an active portal. She still had the vial.

Takeru's eyes widened. He had to stop her.

Takeru launched himself at the vial, reaching wide.

A flaming hand chopped down on his back.

He grunted and curled in on himself. The Unknown Rider slammed her foot down on him and wiggled the vial above him tantalizingly.

Takeru kicked up, surprising the Unknown Rider rather than hurting her. The weight left his chest and he scrabbled away, straightening and turning back to fight.

The Unknown Rider tightened her fists, both igniting with flame at the movement.

"Ghost!" Build came out of the dust cloud, armour dirtied and injured arm loose by his side.

"She's still got the vial!" Takeru called.

Build took immediate action, running to the Unknown Rider with one of his unusual weapons raised with his one good hand. Takeru readied his own attack as Build fought and they worked in tandem to create a joint attack.

The attack hit solidly and the Unknown Rider stumbled back but did not disappear. The original, then.

Takeru readied himself for another attack and Build joined him. The Unknown Rider rolled out of the way and the attack glanced off. Takeru landed heavily, knees buckling at the effort of two consecutive hissatsu attacks. He looked to Build and found him down to one knee and breathing heavily.

They both struggled up as the Unknown Rider prepared to throw the vial into the portal.

Their next attack threw the Unknown Rider off of her feet, the vial rolling from her hand.

Takeru didn't land this time, hitting the ground hard and rolling to a stop. He tried to push himself up, to reach for the vial, but nothing would move. Pain and exhaustion paralysed him and his vision had gone spotty. He dragged his hands underneath him and pushed up, the world rocking from side to side before turning upside down. No. The world wasn't upside down. Somehow, all that effort had simply turned him onto his back.

Build was close by, clutching his arm as he struggled to his knees.

The Unknown Rider was upright and she bent down to retrieve the dropped vial with grace and ease. She swept the vial into her grasp and turned back to the portal, picking up speed as she got closer.

Takeru struggled. He had to get back up. He had to stop her. They had to do something.

But he couldn't move. He wasn't going to make it. And a quick glance to Build showed him Sento wouldn't make it either.

They were going to lose. The world would be infected. Even if they had a cure, he doubted they could synthesise enough medicine fast enough to save everyone. It was the end. The fight was over.

"Ghost!"

The Mighty Brothers appeared, the smoke swirling behind them like they were holy creatures. Their armour was charred and one of them moved more sluggishly than the other but they were upright.

They still had a chance.

"Stop her!" Takeru called, pointing to the Unknown Rider.

The Mighty Brothers reacted immediately. They dived in front of the portal, catching the Unknown Rider by an arm each and trying to push her back. They only managed to keep her from proceeding. But it would be enough.

Takeru finally got to his feet and found Build upright next to him.

"One more time." Build said.

"Together." Takeru nodded.

They gathered the last of the strength and launched. The Mighty Brothers added their own force to the attack and Takeru swiped the vial out of the Unknown Rider's hand just as their attack hit dead on.

There was an explosion of light and sound. Takeru was thrown backward and his vision blacked as he hit the sand.

He was aware of voices and a light touch on his shoulder before his vision returned.

Sento and the Mighty Brothers stood over him.

"The portal?" Takeru grated.

Sento grinned.

"Closed. We stopped her," he said.

The Mighty Brothers helped Takeru to sit and he saw what he assumed to be Amu Kimura sitting tied to the side. The Rider armour and belt were gone and she sat with a sour expression on a face more elderly than he had assumed.

Takeru looked down at his hand and found the vial intact and unopened.

He sighed and let a smile spread before he let exhaustion take him.


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: This is the final chapter of this fiction. I hope you have enjoyed it. I certainly had fun writing it. :) A special thank you to Dash master 48 who reviewed every single chapter as they came out. The encouragement was greatly appreciated. To all readers, please stay safe and aim for your own happy ending.**

**Chapter 26**

Takeru woke to the soft light of a new day. It had been three days since the battle against the Unknown Rider. Hiiro, Taiga, and the others had taken out the other clones even before the battle had ended. Amu Kimura had been taken into custody by the remainder of the Gamma World's Security Forces with the promise of an intent to rehabilitate. Her belt had been locked away in the crypt along with the other things the Gamma World residents wanted to forget.

Takeru apparently hadn't been the only one out of it after the battle. Sento apparently hadn't lasted much longer than Takeru himself and Alain had collapsed half way through the battle. Despite it all, no one had ended in critical condition and Emu and the other doctors had left after patching up the wounded and ordering bed rest.

The cure had been finished the same day and the distribution had begun soon after. The recovery was slow but sure and Emu had promised to return to check on everyone after a week or so.

Sento and his companions had returned to their world yesterday, apparently intent on working on some unfinished jobs. He was lucky Emu hadn't still been around to hear that. Takeru was sure the doctor would have tied the scientist to the bed if he even had an inkling he intended to return to work when he was meant to be resting.

Takeru on the other hand, had taken the opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. His head still spun if he rose too quickly and there were still times food didn't seem to agree with him. On Emu's request, he'd stayed in bed since the battle. People had come and gone in short visits but Takeru remembered little more than the basics. He enjoyed the visits and the news people bought him but today was the day he was intent to re-join society.

He pushed the covers back and sat, taking it slowly. He stood carefully and shuffled out to the hallway.

The castle was bustling already, people rushing to and fro with an assortment of supplies in their hands. A banquet, perhaps?

Takeru stuck close to the wall, trying to stay out of the way as everyone moved around him. He inched to Alain's room and knocked on the door before entering.

There was no one there.

Confused, Takeru left the room and headed to the main hall.

He'd had lots of visits during his bed rest but many of them had been from Emu, Sento, and the others. Akari, Makoto, Alain, and Onari had apparently been by his side when he first woke but he hadn't seen anyone but Onari since. Onari had told him Alain was still recovering and Makoto and Akari had gone back to the Regular World to resupply. They were meant to be back today.

Takeru stumbled into the main hall.

There were lots of people there but none that Takeru recognised. He had been right about the banquet, however. The entire hall was decorated and the centre table was covered in food and drink aplenty. There was no sign of the hall still having been used as a sick bay less than 24 hours ago.

The quantity of fresh supplies meant that the portal team had returned, though.

So where were they?

Takeru checked the throne room, the kitchen, and even the catacombs where Makoto and Alain sometimes gathered in remembrance. There was no sign of his friends anywhere in the castle.

Takeru slouched into the courtyard. They were busy, he supposed. The crisis had only just been averted and plenty of damage had been done during its pending devastation.

Takeru sat on a stone wall, looking out over the new growth, so foreign to the Gamma World. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. He should just be happy everyone was ok. It had been a close call. At least he had the interdimensional phone to keep in contact with everyone this time.

A hand on his shoulder startled him back to attention and he turned to find Makoto grinning down at him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Takeru stood with a bright smile.

"I'm good," he nodded. "Much better."

"Good to hear," another familiar voice said from behind him.

Takeru turned to see Alain striding towards him. The man looked like he'd never been sick. The natural tan had returned to his skin and he held himself as strong and confident as ever.

Takeru grinned at him.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Never better," Alain answered with a grin.

"Takeru!" Another voice called.

Akari came running from the crowd and she embraced him.

"I'm so glad you're ok."

Takeru laughed nervously.

"I'm glad you guys are here," he said, pulling away from Akari when her grip loosened.

Akari pulled him back into a hug and Makoto and Alain joined in laughing.

"Everyone! Don't forget about me!" Onari cried, running down the hill and almost bowling everyone over as he joined in.

Takeru grinned as the arms of his friends connected to hold him. This was it. This was what he had missed. And it was exactly what he needed.

Parado lay on the roof of the hospital, hands behind his head as he watched the clouds go by. Emu and the others had been busy upon their return. With two of their critical doctors missing, the hospital had ended up with quite a few backed up emergency cases and Taiga had quickly been swept away by his impudent intern the second he'd stepped out of the portal.

Parado still wasn't sure how he felt about the whole situation. He was glad Emu and the others were safe but there was a part of him embarrassed that he hadn't cleared the whole challenge by himself. If he had just taken out that Unknown Rider right at the start, before she'd had a chance to clone, Emu might never have been put into danger in the first place. The thought that Emu's portal could have led to space or somewhere equally as dangerous played on his mind quite a bit. It had been pure luck that they had ended up somewhere able to sustain human life.

It could have been the last time he saw Emu. He should never have let the two of them get separated.

At the time, he hadn't been concerned about anything other than getting Emu to safety but what if he'd lost him then? What if he had to live the rest of his life without Emu? The rest of his life alone? The rest of his life half a man?

Parado shook his head. He couldn't continue to regret it. Like with everything, he would learn. And he would never do it again.

"Parado."

Parado rolled to find Emu standing behind him.

Parado stood up, dusting off his colourful pants and readjusting his scarf.

"Let's play a game," Emu said.

A game? Really? Parado's expression lit up like a child at a candy shop. Then it darkened again.

"What about your work? The emergency cases?"

Emu smiled.

"They're under control. I've got a few days off."

A few days? Was he dreaming?

Emu held out his hand.

"That new game you were talking about: let's go play it."

Parado grinned and took the offered hand.

"Let's do it," he said.

Sento was working hard on Banjo's upgrade. Gentoku's report and Sawa's phone repairs had been completed a while ago and no new inspiration had struck him in the meantime so he worked on begrudgingly finishing the new device.

The jobs had taken longer than expected with one arm out of action. It didn't hurt enough that Sento agreed with the amount of bandaging on the limb but he'd had to admit the dexterity wasn't efficient when he'd almost melted Sawa's phone battery while trying to solder a nearby circuit with the offending arm. He was certain the error had been severely exacerbated by the bulky cast and unnecessary sling but couldn't deny it wasn't the whole problem. Besides, Banjo had threatened to completely break the arm if he took the cast or sling off and Sento was relatively sure he meant it.

In some ways, Sento already missed the challenge of the Unknown Rider. At least with an immediate threat, he'd been allowed to work on his own projects and fight the good fight. Sitting in his lab without a passion project just didn't suit him.

He stood, limping to the necessary screwdriver with an annoyed frown at the less than optimal leg.

"You shouldn't be moving!"

The loud voice made Sento flinch. He clutched the screwdriver and turned to the intruder in annoyance.

"Idiot. If you want your upgrade, I'm going to need to move a little," Sento berated.

"I meant you shouldn't be walking around on your own," Banjo griped.

"So what? Are you going to brace me every time I need a screwdriver?"

Banjo turned away so Sento couldn't see his expression.

"Idiot. Who'd do that?"

Sento sat back down and started tightening some of the connections.

"It's not finished yet. Come back in a few hours."

"I'm not here to pick up the upgrade," Banjo said.

"Huh? What do you want then?" Sento asked.

Banjo turned around, hands in his pockets and head down.

"There's some sciency show thing at the Museum," he said. "The others are already waiting."

"You want me to go to a show?"

"It's by some famous scientist."

"Like me?"

"Idiot! You don't have to come! We just thought you'd want a break and all after-"

Sento stood and patted Banjo's shoulder.

"Ok. If you really want me to go, I suppose have no choice but to enlighten this so called 'scientist'."

Sento started up the stairs with a smile.

"Idiot! I never said I wanted you to come!" Banjo yelled, chasing Sento up the stairs.

"No need to be embarrassed," Sento called down to him, only just maintaining his lead.

"I'm not embarrassed!" Banjo yelled.

The fridge door closed and the lights to the lab turned off for the first time in a while.


End file.
